Those Who Remenisced
by Sheepishly101
Summary: John and Clara have survived their first year at Hogwarts. However, when the Hogwarts Train is attacked on their way back to school, Clara and John find that there are strange memories chasing them... And they won't stop. SECOND INSTALLMENT IN TALES OF THE FORGOTTEN.
1. Fear

*** So, here you go, the second installement! Make sure to read, ' _Tales of The Forgotten_ '! I hope you enjoy the first chapter, though! **

**** Just to get it out of the way, I do not own Harry Pooter (JK Rowling) or Doctor Who (BBC)**

* * *

Clara felt a whirring sound flash by her, and she realized that the world was spinning. Clara collapsed to her knees, as she was getting nauseous. Suddenly, the feeling stopped.

Clara got up, and checked her magic watch. It was just before eleven o'clock, and it was… September first…

But that couldn't be right. It had just been late June, and Clara had just gotten off the Hogwarts Express to go home.

Another pang of nausea targeted Clara's gut.

 _Clara was picked up her father after saying 'goodbye' to John. She was saddened when John hadn't written to her over the summer, though she wasn't surprised. Clara's father had to leave Clara early on the platform, as he was going to be late._

Clara clenched her jaw. She remembered these memories, but they just seemed _wrong._ It was like someone was taunting her…

But, Clara disregarded the fact, and kept going acting as if she were just paranoid. It was her second year now, and she had been through so much. Yet, her last year seemed just like yesterday… or more like… five minutes ago…

The Hogwart's Express whistle blew, so Clara trudged onwards.

* * *

Clara looked throughout the train for her friends. She immediately found Ginny alone in a compartment, playing with her wand.

"Ehem," Clara said.

Ginny looked up and smiled brightly. "Clara!" She said, while crushing Clara in a hug. "I missed you so much! Can you believe it? It's our second year!"

"It's John's third," Clara muttered.

Ginny wrinkled her nose. "That just means he gets more homework."

"Yeah, but he never _does_ it!"

Ginny laughed, and Clara had to admit, it was nice seeing her friend so happy. After everything that occurred last year… many people just wouldn't be able to return to normal.

Clara sat down, and smoothed her skirt. She started talking to Ginny about random things, like their summers, family,what they wanted to do this year. All nice-talk.

Then, a knock came from the compartment door. Clara turned to see a wild-looking John standing outside. Clara stood up, and let him in.

"Hey," he said coolly.

Clara had to admit, she wasn't sure what to think of John now. He was sporting a black shirt with a black jacket that had red trim. His pants were also black, and he wore black boots. It might've sounded weird, but it looked _good._ It matched John's personality. But, Clara couldn't get over John's hair, which was now sticking up and curling on the ends.

Clara realized that she had been staring, and offered John to take a seat.

"Thanks."

"No problem," Clara said. "So, you signed up for every class, right? You sound like Hermione."

John groaned. "I don't like being compared to _her_. She honestly thinks she's so amazing."

Ginny frowned, but Clara quickly brought up a new discussion. "So, you have new books, right?"

John grimaced, his attempt at a smile, "Yeah, the one on divination is a load of rubbish. You can't _see_ into the future!"

"Maybe," Clara said with hesitation.

"But, you can know it, _feel_ it," John continued. "Time is honestly one of the scariest things I've encountered. Everything ends, eventually. Everything must turn to dust."

Clara frowned. John seemed a little _too_ familiar with this topic.

Ginny and Clara continued to talk about whatever. John had rummaged through his bag and pulled out a book. Clara hadn't even noticed the time fly by until she noticed the that started pelting on the window, and Clara was forced to look outside.

Clara frowned as the window became slate grey, then completely black. But that wasn't right, they still had a couple hours until the sun went down.

Still, John was invested in his book. Clara couldn't deny that she was starting to panic a little. The lanterns were flickering, and in a second, the all blew out.

Clara was lost in the darkness.

"Hey! Who turned out the lights?" John asked, accidentally brushing against Clara's leg.

"I-I don't know," Clara stammered. It was getting progressively colder.

"I need to find Ron!" Ginny said.

"It's not safe, Ginger!" John warned.

"But, I need to know whether my brother is _safe_."

"It's just a power issue."

"We don't _have_ power issues. It's a _magic train,_ you idiot!" Ginny said in a frustrated tone.

"Ginny," Clara said carefully. "You might bump into someone and get hurt. It's pitch black!"

"I don't care! I've been in snake chambers, I think I can handle the dark."

Clara heard the compartment door slide open, the closed. Clara sighed along with John, who said "idiot."

Clara punched him in the arm. "She's our _friend_!"

"Doesn't mean she's not an idiot!"

"Seriously John? Now? Right now?"

"What? What's happening right now?"

"I'm slapping you, that's what," Clara declared.

"What did I do?"

Clara kicked him in the shin. A faint moan escaped John's lips. Clara smiled to herself, and was just a little happy it was pitch black.

"Can't we use our wands?" John asked.

"No, we can't. We're not at Hogwarts yet, John."

"But we're on the _Hogwarts Express,_ " John pointed.

"I don't know! Just keep quiet!" Clara scolded.

John sat in silence for a minute. "Why do I have to be quiet?"

"Because!"

"Because why?"

" _Because_ I don't want to have any petty arguments like this with you!" Clara said under her breath.

"I see."

Clara opened her mouth to answer, but she felt the room drop by about twenty degrees.

Clara's teeth chattered. "I-Is it j-just m-me, or did i-it get r- _really_ cold?"

Even in the dark, Clara could tell that John shrugged. "Just you."

"Y-you're n-not human, I s-swear!" Clara accused.

"Maybe, but even I know that something is wrong here. Doesn't take an alien to figure that one out."

"Y-yeah."

"I'm going to find out what _exactly_ is going on," John said.

John got up, and Clara could hear him pull on the door, but a blast of cold air pushed him back.

Clara's eyes adjusted to the air… that wasn't air. Clara was looking at an eight-foot tall _shadow_ with a blank face. When Clara said 'blank,' she meant it. The shadow's face was kind of gone, soulless. Clara's muscles went numb.

Whatever the thing was, it drew a long, shaky breath. It made a sort of hissing sound, and the temperature dropped again.

"Clara!" John's faint voice said. "I-It's a d-dementor!" Even he was getting cold now.

Clara fell onto the floor, her face to the ceiling. She could hear very faint sounds of John talking…

" _Block it out!"_ He said, though it sounded like a dream, garbled and distant. " _It can't get to you if you have a sufficient mental blocking mechanism! Lock your deepest, and happiest memories away!"_

Clara did what she was told, but it wasn't enough. Another round of chills went down Clara's spine. It was like the cold was etched in her skin, in her mind, in her soul.

Clara felt a cold burning sensation all over her body. She had all her happiest memories removed, and Clara could feel one slipping away…

 _The brown haired woman stood by the side of the singing girl._

" _Sleep! Wake up, wake up. And let the cloak of life, cling to your bones! Cling to your bones…" The girl sang._

Clara gasped, and shook under the shadow that was on top of her. She couldn't take it anymore, she screamed.

Clara let out the most horrifying shriek she had ever heard, but everything was happening in a haze. All Clara could feel was her body shaking, and rolling on the floor, trying to escape the cold shadow.

"I don't know where I am!" Clara wailed. Cold tears were streaming down her face, and Clara felt herself loosing a grip on herself… and the world. She honestly didn't know what she was even crying about, she just knew that it _hurt so much._

And then, the most and the most cruel and terrifying object appeared in Clara's mind. A black raven was flying toward her, and Clara let out a guttural scream.


	2. What You Will Feel

*** Chapter 2! Hope you guys enjoy, and if you haven't already, check out the first story 'Tales of The Forgotten'. There are some tiny explanations that you might want to to know.  
**

* * *

John was at a loss. He didn't know what to do for his friend. Sure, he knew everything there was to know on dementors, but this wasn't going to help in Clara's situation.

Clara was screaming maniacally, crying and wailing for help. John tried to tell her to at least hide her most precious memory, and maybe, just _maybe_ , the dementor wouldn't affect her as much.

But, John didn't understand what was going on. Dementors sucked the happiness out of people, they usually didn't feel this much physical pain. John hadn't heard of anybody who had screamed during a dementor attack as much as Clara was screaming right now.

John had to admit, the dementor was getting to him too. John was much more equipped with mind tricks than the average twelve-year -old, so it didn't affect him as much, but he did feel the pain, loss, and sorrow of his life recurring in his head.

Stuttering because of the cold, John yelled, "L-leave her alone! T-take mine, take m-mine!"

The dementor broke off of Clara momentarily, and seemed to gaze into John's soul. John shivered, but held held ground.

The dementor floated toward him, and initiated the kiss. And it was horrible. John felt everything in his life slip away, but he had to be strong. If not for him, for Clara.

The dementor was probing his mind, seeping into his body and flowing through his veins. John was feeling empty… so empty…

But then, in a flash of light, the weight of the dementor was whisked off of John's body, and he could breathe normally again. Then, his vision slacked into the darkness.

* * *

"John!" Someone's distant voice yelled. "John!"

John felt his eyes flutter open, towering over him was Hermione, her hair falling in odd places.

John groaned. "What happened? Why are we moving?"

Hermione bit her lip. "We've been moving for about an hour now. You were unconscious. Ron's with Harry. I had to come, there was all this screaming coming from your compartment-"

"Is Clara OK?"

Hermione's eyes started to water. "W-we don't understand what's going on with her. She's breathing, but there's no pulse-" he voice broke.

"She can't be alive and dead!" John said angrily, while sitting up.

John turned to to the seats. Clara was lying down on them, and John could see her chest rising and then lowering.

Hermione gave a sad look, and she started quivering. "I-I'm going to get the professor and Ginny…"

"Why do I need a professor?" John asked, still eyeing Clara.

"He can help, he assisted Harry," Hermione gave, to John's disliking, a quick hug, and she bolted out of the compartment. John tried to stand, but his legs shook, so John sat down against the train wall, below the window. John was infected by sudden nausea, but he forced it down. This wasn't the time.

Then, the compartment door slid open again, revealing Ginger, Hermione, and a man John had never seen before.

The man, who john assumed was the professor, knelt down beside John.

"Hello, John Smith."

Lupin frowned. "You've been affected by a dementor," he glanced at Clara. "What exactly happened?"

John opened his mouth, but he shuddered again and felt vomit rising in his throat.

Lupin pulled something out of his coat. "Here, this is chocolate. It'll make you feel better."

John plucked the bar of chocolate out of the professor's hands. "Thanks," he muttered. Even though John would never admit it, the chocolate made him feel instantly better.

Lupin stared at John. "I"m going to ask again: What exactly happened? I can understand Harry-"

"The dementor attacked Harry as well, Harry Potter?" John asked.

Lupin nodded.

John glanced down. "Well, it got cold, _really_ cold and dark. Then, the dementor entered our compartment, and it attacked Clara."

"Why was she screaming?" Ginger asked, though with hesitance and a broken vice.

John shook his head. "I don't know. Dementors don't cause this much physical pain. Sure, they reawaken your most distant of memories… But it would mean Clara had severe trauma over the years…"

"Her mother died," Ginger pointed.

"Everybody loses something, or someone. It would've had to been more. Maybe when she wakes up we'll find out."

Lupin cocked his head. "You know an awful lot, Mr. Smith. We supposed that miss Clara was having a fit over the sheer presence of the dementor," he once again, glanced in Clara's direction. "We now now she almost received the kiss…"

John crossed his arms. "Why were they here? The dementors, I mean."

Lupin frowned. "We'll be getting to Hogwarts in a couple of minutes. Up you get." He reached out his hand, and John took it with reluctance. John got to his feet and sighed.

"Was it you?" John asked as Lupin was leaving the compartment.

"Sorry?"

"Was it you who cast the Patronus Charm?"

Lupin stood astounded for a second, but left without saying a word.

Hermione went out after him, which left Ginger and John to themselves.

Ginger was crying over Clara's body. "I don't understand!" She cried.

John stared at Clara.

"Hermione said something about her breathing, but not having a pulse!" Ginger cried again. She reached her hand out, and held Clara's hand.

John carefully grabbed Clara's hand from Ginger's grasp. He pressed two fingers lightly to her wrist. He waited. Nothing.

"It may be too faint to feel," John reasoned.

This didn't sit well with Ginger. "Why would they attack you two? Is it because of Harry?"

John shook his head. "No, something else is going on, and I intend to find out what it is."

Ginger nodded solemnly.

The Hogwarts Train whistled, and came to an all stop. John kept a hard look, as he wasn't sure what to do in this situation.

Lupin came in again and pulled out his wand. "If you two could just, clear away-"

John pulled Ginger away from Clara's body. Lupin waved his wand, and Clara levitated, her hair flying all over the place. Her body pale and limp.

John and Ginger moved out of the way, and they followed their professor and the Clara.

Many students glanced at them, and immediately started gossiping. John shot them a killer look, and they stared, dumbfounded for a second.

They walked onto the platform, where John spotted Harry, Hermione and Ron. They slowed down and walked in sync with John.

Harry stared at Clara's body, and Hermione was crying into Ron's shirt.

A familiar sneer appeared. "What happened? Did Potter's ugly face kill a girl?" The voice came from none other than Draco Malfoy.

Everybody stopped walking. John noticed a flicker of fear cross onto Malfoy's face. It was five against him, Crabbe, and Goyle.

But, Malfoy recovered quickly. He turned toward Harry. "I heard you fainted. Did the dementor scare you? Does someone need their mummy?"

Harry's face paled. John laced his fingers around his wand…

Malfoy sneered again. "Ah, and you, _John Smith_. Did you faint too?"

John straightened his back, and stressed his Scottish accent. "No, no I didn't. Though, I have to ask, did you wet yourself? It certainly looks like it." John silently waved his wand…

Malfoy jerked, and his pants darkened in his er… area…

Ron let out a large snort. And Malfoy, being the coward he was, ran off wrapping his robes around himself, his cronies following him.

John grimaced, and ran to the castle, as he did not intend to lose Clara in all the commotion. The moment he stepped into the castle though, professor McGonagall lead him away to the hospital wing along with Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Ginger.

John was greeted by a fussy Madame Pomfrey. She inspected them all, and narrowed her eyes when she saw John and Harry.

"Dementors," McGonagall explained.

Pomfrey muttered angrily. "Dementors around the school? Horrible idea!"

"Should they stay the night?" mcGonagall asked.

"I'm fine!" Both John and Harry said at the same time.

Pomfrey looked at them and sighed. "Very well, but I must attend to miss Oswald. Have some chocolate."

She left briskly, and closed the curtains around Clara's bed.

"I've already had chocolate…" Harry muttered as they left the hospital wing.

John smirked. "You need more. Chocolate causes serotonin to be released in your body, which makes you happy. Simple biology, really."

"Plus, chocolate is bloody delicious!" Ron added.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Ron could you please-"

She was cut off by McGonagall calling her.

"Miss Granger, I must discuss your times table along with Mr. Smith here. You ,may attend the feast in just a minute."

Hermione shrugged, and they followed McGonagall to her office.


	3. Memoir of the Unknown

*** Chapter three, yes! I'm just going to point this out, some of the dialouge comes from the 'Bells of Saint John' prequel. Rmeber to show your supprt if you like this story.  
**

* * *

Clara woke up, or so she thought. She really did try to. Her body just didn't want her eyes to open. She tried to move her fingers, but they stayed put. Clara tried to call for help, but her mouth remained closed.

And then, she was drifting. Falling even, into her own mind… So far down… She was locked in her thoughts, and she couldn't escape.

 _Clara was running, but it wasn't her body. It was that woman's, the woman Clara had seen so many times in her dreams and then forgot about when she woke up._

 _The scene dissolved into millions of pieces. Clara was still in the woman's body, but her outfit was different. This time, she was looking at a man in a silver suit. Clara didn't know why, but she started crying._

 _Clara spoke in a familiar voice. "I did love you. I wasn't very good at it, but I did love you."_

 _The silver man frowned, but looked into Clara's eyes._

 _Again, the world dissolved. Now, Clara was standing before a giant sun-like thing. Clara noticed that there were stars all around, and Clara realized she was in space._

 _Clara felt her/the woman's arm move. She lifted up a red leaf and Clara felt tears prick her eyes._

" _The most important leaf in human history. It's full of stories, full of history. And full of a future that never got lived. Days that should have been that never were. Passed on to me. This leaf isn't just the past, it's a whole future that never happened. There are billions and millions of unlived days for every day we live. An infinity. All the days that never came. And these are all my mum's."_

 _The leaf was grasped by golden arms, and it crumbled into bright embers._

 _Clara tried to scream, but the world was in control, and everything melted once more._

 _And then Clara saw something that made her gasp._

 _She was in her own body. Sure, it was from a few years ago, but she was talking to a man on the swing. Clara was 100% positive though, that this event never happened in her life._

" _Hello," Clara said._

" _Hello," The man on the swing replied._

" _Why are you sitting on a swing?"_

" _Why shouldn't I?"_

" _Because you're old."_

 _The man frowned. "Yes, that's true. That is very true."_

" _My mum says I shouldn't talk to strange men."_

" _Ah, you mum's right."_

" _Are you strange?"_

" _Oh, dear. I'm way past strange... I think I'm probably incredible."_

" _Are you lonely?" Clara felt her younger self pry._

" _Why would I be lonely?"_

" _Because you're sad. Have you lost something?"_

" _No."_

" _When I lose something, I go to a quiet place and I close my eyes, and then I can remember where I put it." Surprisingly, this was true._

" _Good plan."_

" _I'm always losing things. I lost my best pencil, my schoolbag, and my Gran, and my mojo!"_

" _Your mojo?"_

" _I got it back, though."_

" _Hey, that's good."_

" _What did you lose?"_

" _My friend. I met her twice before and I lost her both times, and now I don't think I'll ever find her again."_

" _Have you been looking?" Clara asked, in a squeaky voice._

" _Yeah, everywhere"._

" _That's sad."_

" _It is a bit... Hey, is that your mum?" He nodded toward a woman Clara instantly recognized._

" _Yeah, I think you better had."_

" _How are you going to find her?"_

" _Well, the first two times I met her, I just sort of bumped into her, so I thought maybe if I just wandered about a bit, I might bump into her again. You know, like destiny, sort of."_

" _That's rubbish."_ It really was, though.

" _Yeah, I think it probably is. Hey, maybe I could find a quiet room and have a good think about it instead."_

" _That would be better," Clara hopped off the swing. "Goodbye."_

" _Goodbye."_

 _Clara felt her mouth opened, and this time, it was_ her _that was talking, not the body. "_ _Mister, I hope you find her again."_

 _"So do I."_

 _Clara ran back to her mother, and smiled because it had been the longest time._

" _Who was that?" Her mother asked. Clara almost cried, she hadn't heard her mother's voice in a long time._

" _I was talking to a sad man."_

" _Clara Oswald, what have I told you about talking to strange men?"_

 _Clara was about to answer, when there was a blinding light, and she was pulled out of her thoughts._

* * *

Clara met a brilliant light. She stared at a white ceiling.

"Ah, you're up," a familiar voice said.

"Where am I?" Clara asked.

"The hospital wing, dear. You had a nasty encounter with a Dementor. If you ask me, they shouldn't even be here!" Madame Pomfrey came into view. "Here," she handed clara a cup of brown liquid. "Drink this."

Clara gingerly plucked the cup out of Madame Pomfrey's hands. She took a large gulp out of the cup, and gagged. "It tastes putrid!"

"Well, I wasn't going to give you pumpkin juice!" Madame Pomfrey scolded.

"Why not?" Clara muttered under her breath.

Madame Pomfrey continued to fuss with Clara. "You gave us all quite a scare, you know. We couldn't get a pulse, but you were definitely breathing. We knew something was up," Pomfrey said.

"Am I good to go?" Clara asked hopefully. She wasn't sure she would be able to take much more of this.

"I want you to stay a little while longer. You can attend your classes tomorrow."

"Oh! My classes!"

Pomfrey grabbed some weird-looking herbs. "Don't worry. It's just the first day, nothing important."

Clara sighed with relief. "Has anybody visited me?"

Pomfrey humphed. "Around five students tried. I wouldn't let them in, of course. Seeing as you were still in an unstable condition."

"What do you mean, _unstable?_ "

Madame Pomfrey frowned. "My dear, getting attacked by a Dementor is nothing light. We are surprised that you survived, given the circumstances."

"What happened to me?" Clara asked with a slight quiver in her voice.

Madame Pomfrey looked away from her. "Every test we did said that you were dead, and here you are."

Clara looked down. "Do you know why it said that?"

"For some time you really were dead. You literally brought yourself back to life."


	4. Life Changing Tea Leaves

*** Chapter 4! Yeah! I have a couple chapters written in advance, but don't expect anything because I like to keep you guys wondering.  
**

* * *

John had attempted to visit Clara, but he kept getting shooed away by Madame Pomfrey. He, along with Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny had noticed that McGonagall and Dumbledore had visited Clara as well. He hoped that her condition wasn't too bad.

John had to resist the urge, that morning, to pull out the tiny hourglass and turn it…

John shook his head and tucked the hourglass in his pocket.

He walked to breakfast with Ginger, his hair definitely not combed, and his outfit not groomed. John was still worried for Clara's well-being. Ginger seemed to cry non stop about it. John had to admit, it was kind of annoying.

Then, Hagrid strode into the Great Hall, waving a polecat around from his left hand. He kept muttering about his first day as as teacher… Three guesses who the new Care of Magical Creatures professor was going to be.

John ate silently, until he realized that he was had to leave for Divination. He said a quick, 'goodbye' to Ginger, and ran after Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

"Hey," he said calmly.

"Hello," Hermione responded politely.

"Do you know what's up with Clara?" Harry blurted.

John frowned. "No, Pomfrey won't let anybody in, remember?"

"I know, but it's been a whole night!"

"Can I just remind you that she was attacked by a Dementor…?"

"So was I!"

John stopped walking. "She had more exposure to the Dementor. You were lucky to have a teacher with you, Clara wasn't."

Harry shut his mouth, and John continued toward the North Tower staircase.

After climbing seven flights of stairs, Ron stopped in a panting fit.

"I'm… not sure… I can take… much more…" he wheezed.

John laughed. "You guys have such horrible cardiovascular systems! Do you do any exercise?"

"Cardi-what?" Ron asked.

Hermione flipped her hair. "It's a Muggle term. I'm surprised John knows it."

"I'm surprised you would think that," John pointed.

Hermione frowned. "Given you are a Pureblood-"

"Just because I'm a Pureblood, doesn't mean I don't know Muggle terms! Just because you are a Muggle, doesn't mean you don't know any Pureblood stuff either!" John argued.

Hermione gaped, then shut her mouth. She sighed and walked off.

Ron breathed in heavily. "Sometimes I wonder whether or not you want to get killed."

"It would be hard to kill me," John muttered.

They kept going, until they met the oddest painting of a knight, (whose ego was stuck up way too far up his arse) who pointed them in the direction of their class.

They got to a landing, where all the students seemed to be waiting at. John noticed that there weren't any doors, but there was a circular trap door on the floor…

Immediately, the trap door opened, and a ladder extended down. John only heard the students' breaths… _Inhale… Exhale… Inhale… Exhale..._

John grinned. He was the first to climb down the stairs, though he kind of just jumped down.

John met the weirdest classroom he had ever seen. Had twenty small circular tables, with puffy chairs, and all the colours clashed. The room glowed with a crimson light, and it smelled old, and sickly. Like, some sort of ancient candy.

"Where is she?" Ron whispered.

To answer his question, a voice came from the shadows. "Welcome, how nice to see you in the physical world."

John waved his hands about. "Umm… Lady, we were always in the physical world…. We're not in the Void… so…"

A hideous (to say the least) woman appeared. Professor Sybill Trelawney wore thick glasses that made her eyes look like _planets_. She wore a sparkling shawl, and bands, ribbons, bangles, rings, chains, and beads all adorned her outfit.

"Nice outfit," John said. Everybody snickered.

Trelawney frowned. She pointed at John. "You are difficult to read." She then gave an eerie cackle. "No matter, that just means you have a better chance of acquiring the Sight." She pointed to the chairs. "Sit, my children, sit."

John joined Harry, Ron, and Hermione at a table.

"Welcome to Divination," Trelawney began. "My name is professor Trelawney. You may not have seen me before, as too much hustle and bustle often cloud my Inner Eye."

"It's called dizziness," John retorted.

Trelawney stared at John for a few seconds, he could tell she was trying to make something of him. But, then she waved her hand, and dismissed the topic.

"You have chosen to study Divination, the most difficult of magical arts. I must warn you at the outset that if you do not have the Sight, there is very little I can do for you… books can only get you so far in my class…"

Hermione gasped, and John whispered in her direction, "Don't worry, I think she's loony as well. Almost as much as you!" He then turned back to the professor, and completely tuned her out.

John stared at the teacups standing in a cupboard. He examined the crystal ball that sat on their table. He only listened when Trelawney said, "In February, one of us will leave forever."

John perked up and stared at the teacher who was unaware of the sparks she just caused.

Eventually, the most action that John got, was Trelawney pouring some tea into a blue cup. John snapped his attention back to her.

"Pages five and six in _Unfogging the Future_ …"

John turned toward Hermione. "OK, what are we doing?"

Hermione sighed. "Honestly, were you even paying attention?"

"No, I never do."

She sighed again. "We're supposed to get into partners, and drink tea until only the dregs remain. Then, we swill the cup around three times with the left hand and turn the cup upside-down. That'll make the rest of the tea drain away. Finally, your partner will "read" your cup using pages-"

"Five and six," John finished.

Hermione nodded, but glared at John after scanning the room.

"Ugh! We're tick together!"

John frowned. "How come?"

"Everybody else has already got a partner!"

"So? We're not stuck together, merely just assisting each other in a task."

Hermione rolled her eyes, but drank her tea, all lady-like.

John however, just slurped it down, and waited for Hermione. When she was done, and they had done all the extra work, they swapped cups.

"Broaden your mind! See past the mundane!" Trelawney cried, from Merlin knows where.

John examined Hermione's cup. "It's weird. It's just kinda… _brown_."

"Same here. Think we messed up somewhere?"

"Nah, we just don't have the Sight, whatever the Hell that means."

John looked closer at the cup. "There's this ankh shaped thing. I think that means you are devoted to women…"

"Huh?"

"More like, women's rights."

"Oh, Ok." Hermione exhaled slightly.

"Other than that, I do not know."

Hermione bent her neck. "Ok, then. Onto yours…" She peered into the cup. "Well, there are these specks that lead to a blob of tea. It's kinda weird, it looks like a box-"

Hermione was interrupted by Trelawney talking in an "outdoor voice". She was inspecting Harry's cup.

"A falcon, my dear. You have a deadly enemy."

Hermione frowned. "That looks like John's-" She shook her head. "But, everybody knows that Harry's got an enemy."

The professor stared at her. Hermione continued with a shaky breath. But, her eyes were blazing.

"Everybody knows about Harry, and well, You- Know- Who."

John gazed at the Granger girl. She had more guts than she showed. He smiled appreciatively. Trelawney, however, didn't know where to stop.

"The club… an attack… Dear, dear, this is not a happy cup."

"I thought it was a bowler's hat," Ron muttered sheepishly.

"There is a skull! Danger is in your path!" Trelawney continued.

Hermione frowned again. "John has some of those in his cup too…"

Then, their professor screamed and shrieked, "My boy, there is no kind way to say this!"

"What is it?" Harry asked angrily.

"You have the Grim!"

"The what?" Harry asked.

John knew what she was talking about, but he didn't really care. He had heard of Trelawney predicting somebody's death from older students trying to scare him.

"The do that haunts the churchyards! My boy, it is an omen of death!" Trelawney screeched.

John glanced at the cup. He frowned, as it did look like the Grim as it was depicted in their book.

"I don't think it looks like a Grim," Hermione said flatly.

Professor Trelawney stared at Hermione for a second, then with dislike she said, "My dear, I perceive very little aura around you. Very little receptivity to the resonances of the future."

John snorted. "You really tried to put that sentence together and make it sound more science-y, didn't you?"

Trelawney glared at John. "Divination is a certain science that many cannot perceive. I believe I'm starting to rethink what I thought of you earlier…"

John sighed. "There's a difference between _seeing_ the future, and _knowing_ the future."

Trelawney frowned. "Give me your cup," she hissed. Hermione passed her John's cup gingerly.

The professor examined it. "Yes, yes. Horrible future…"

"Worse than Potters?" John turned toward Harry, "No offense."

The professor seemed to stifle a scream. "So many… enemies! My boy, what have you done?"

John cocked his head. "I dunno, hexed some kids?"

Trelawney shook her head wildly. "No, no, no my dear boy. These enemies are old, ancient! I see…" She closed her eyes. "The burning! The never ending burning! Fire, so much fire!"

She turned toward John, who was starting to feel very uncomfortable. She pointed angrily at him. "Billions of people screaming at once! Burning in the Medusa Cascade!"

John gripped the table, by now, John could tell Harry was no longer the spotlight of the day.

Trelawney just couldn't stop though. "Run! Run! Run! Ruuun! Run away like you always do! In the box, the blue box…"

John stopped breathing. "I'm sorry, what?"

But, Trelawney dropped the cup, leaving it shattered on the floor.

"I-I think you'd better go now children…" She said with a shaky breath.

John gathered his things, and did what he was told. He ran.


	5. To Hell and Back

***Watch out for the swear! I try not to have many, but you know...  
**

* * *

Clara had fallen asleep again. She had dreamt more, but these were normal dreams. They didn't involve death or horror. Just a dream to be forgotten.

This time, Clara had woken up because of the commotion that was stirring up in the hospital wing.

There was a lot of shuffling, and complaining.

"Wait 'till my father hears about this!" The unmistakable sound of Malfoy shrieked.

"Oh, hush Mr. Malfoy," Madame Pomfrey scolded. "It's just a wound, ok?"

"He's going to die, isn't he?" The sickening voice of Pansy cried. Clara gagged, she had looked and sounded like that girl last year. Parkinson was truly horrifying.

"Miss Parkinson, can you please leave my hospital wing?" Pomfrey chided.

Pansy cried and wailed. "Draaco!" She called, as she was pulled out of the hospital wing, "I'll write to your father, and I'll complain to my-" Eventually, her voice was drowned out by magic.

Madame Pomfrey huffed. Clara closed her eyes so that she could concentrate on what she was saying.

"Malfoy, you'll be fine," Madame Pomfrey concluded. "I'll mend the gash in a jiffy, you'll just have to stay around thirty minutes more in case of infection, allergic reaction, etc. Etc. Ok?" She stared at him. "Oh, and you'll need a cast."

"Very well, just wait-"

"Malfoy, do you want my help?" Pomfrey rebuffed.

"Fine," Malfoy sneered.

Pomfrey wizzed about, and Clara chuckled when Malfoy almost screamed when he drank the potion. It was funny, but Clara knew Malfoy hadn't forgotten about last year's incident, which left him hexed in a hallway.

Clara winced at the memory, and clutched her bed sheets. She exhaled sharply.

Madame Pomfrey had eventually finished with Malfoy, and left him to sit on one of the hospital beds, which happened to be the one beside Clara. Clara tried her best to pretend to be asleep. She was _alone_ , with _Malfoy._

"I know you can hear me, you filthy blood traitor!" Malfoy sneered.

"Yep, but I don't want to," Clara shot back. She opened her eyes slightly.

She could feel Malfoy scanning her.

"What happened to you?" He asked harshly.

"A Dementor," Clara said with a since.

"Like Potter?" He asked with a laugh. "You ended up worse than him! And Potter's the lowest."

Clara bit her tongue. "At least he lived."

"That's literally all he's known for."

Clara picked at the bed sheets again. "Go away," she said quietly.

"Did you faint too?" Malfoy jeered.

"No."

"I heard screaming, was that you?" Malfoy cackled.

"No!"

"Aw," Malfoy taunted. "Did I hurt your feewings?"

"You have no idea." Clara had to remain calm… She could hear Malfoy sliding off his bed and walking toward her…

"Did I make you sad?" Malfoy mocked.

"Please, just go away," Clara pleaded.

"Or what?"

"Just go!"

"You can't tell me what to do!"

"Go away!"

"You blood trai-"

Clara felt everything pile on top of her. She sucked in a breath… She could handle it… She could handle it…

Clara shot up into a sitting position. "I died!" She shrieked.

Malfoy smirked. "You look alive."

Clara clamped her mouth with her hand. "I didn't mean-"

"That you died? Yeah, no shi-"

"I really did die, I just didn't want to tell you!" Clara muttered.

Malfoy leaned. "And tell me, did I die too? Cause this seems like Hell to me."

"No," Clara breathed. "On the train, I-I died. And then I came back."

Malfoy nodded. "And you came back insane. Sounds 'bout right."

"You don't understand! It was the most horrible thing ever." Clara said, tears threatening her eyes. She would _not_ cry in front of Malfoy. "I was reliving my most horrible experiences, and I-I died."

"Potter didn't die," Malfoy pointed.

Clara almost laughed. "He was lucky. He had that new professor-"

"Seems unqualified, in my opinion," Malfoy said.

"Save him," Clara finished.

"But, why did you scream?" Malfoy asked, and it may have been Clara's loony mind, but he looked almost… concerned. No, it wasn't really _concern_ , per say, It was just an interest.

Clara thought for a second. "Because it hurt."

"People don't scream when they're attacked by Dementors."

"I know." Clara said. "Everyone tells me that. Apparently I've been through some tough shit."

Malfoy laughed. "Apparently."

At that moment, Madame Pomfrey walked in, and took a glance at them. She looked a little surprised. She shook herself out of her shock.

"Mr. Malfoy, you can go now, if you're OK."

Malfoy made a face and walked back to his bed. "This school is no-good."

Madame Pomfrey glared at him. "Mr. Malfoy-"

Malfoy let out a fake gasp of pain, "On the other hand, I think I'll stay."

Madame Pomfrey winced, but let him stay anyway.

* * *

Clara lay in her bed until right before dinner. Madame Pomfrey came to her, and she looked a bit relieved.

"Miss Oswald, you are ready to go," she said sharply.

Clara sat up, "You mean, I can leave?"

"Yes!"

Clara jumped out of the hospital bed. "Oh, Merlin! Thanks!"

Clara noticed Malfoy lying in bed, staring at the work Pansy had left for him earlier. Clara walked up to his bed. He was covered in an unnecessary amount of bandages.

"Um, Malfoy," Clara said with a slight quiver in her voice.

"Mhm.. ?" He said.

Clara's stomach did a turn. "I'm sorry about last year."

Malfoy sized up a bit, but still looked at her. He nodded, and Clara left silently.

With one final check-up from Madame Pomfrey, Clara left, and headed toward the dorm room to change. She threw on the school uniform and smiled at herself in the mirror. Only then, did she notice how much she had changed over the summer.

Clara was an inch taller, and she could tell that puberty was going to kick in. Clara felt the urge to make herself look nice, rather than bed-wrangled. She smiled to herself silently. Merlin, she was turning into a Pansy.

Clara walked off to the Great Hall. When she got there, she instantly felt better. She was home at last. Clara walked past the Slytherin table, and noticed everybody gossiping. Three guesses about what.

Clara sat down next to Ginny, and tapped her shoulder. Ginny turned toward her and squealed.

"Clara! You're OK!"

"Yeah…" Clara lied.

Ginny stared at Clara for a bit, but shrugged and gave her hug.

"Ginny!" Clara wheezed. "You're choking me!"

"Oh, I'm just so happy!"

Clara smiled meekly. "Where's John?"

Ginny's smile wavered. She looked down at her food. "He had some trouble Professor Trelawney. He's just been reading in the common room. He said he needed to know more on a _blue box_. Do you know what it means?"

Clara shook her head. "I haven't the faintest idea."


	6. Tear In Time

***If you were worried, I don't plan on pairing Clara with Draco. (That even _sounds_ weird.) However, there will be _some_ romance. I don't really like romance-ey stuff, but it's a little necessary for the story.  
**

* * *

John hadn't gone to the Great Hall in days. He had rarely spoken to anybody, except Clara. She was the one who actually kept him fed and alive.

So far, John hadn't really encountered anything on the mysterious blue box. There was something about werewolves and the Muggle queen, but nothing else. John bit his lip in frustration. Clara came to him on Thursday morning.

"John, you need to get out of here," she said sternly.

John had basically been spending all his free time in the common room, or in his dorm. John sighed.

"Clara, you know that I need to find out what this all means!" He gestured to his notes he had written on the topic.

Clara put her hands on her hips. "Come on, just for today. It isn't healthy staying cooped up in one place for a long time!"

"No!"

Clara rolled her eyes. "John, you will come, whether I have to drag you out or not."

John shrugged, and got up. He caught Clara in a moment of surprise.

"What?" he asked.

Clara shook her head. "I didn't know you were so easily persuaded."

John smirked. "Me either. Add that to the Clara Superpower List: Can make John do anything without many issues."

Clara smiled, and walked with John to the Great Hall. John followed Clara, who sat next to Ginger. Ginger gave a shy smile in John's direction.

John looked at the food selection, oatmeal (gag), toast (ugh…), bacon (those poor piggys), and… Cereal!

John grabbed the banana flavoured cereal with glee, and poured into his bowl. He didn't put in the proper ratio of milk to cereal. It was just a soggy, but delicious mess.

Clara sent John a look of disgust, to which John responded, "You _wanted_ me out, right?" Clara pressed her lips into a firm line. She rolled her eyes, and continued buttering her bread.

The three students remained sitting at the table for a long time. John just didn't know when it was socially correct to leave. He sighed in exasperation.

At last though, Clara got up. "Let's go," she said.

Ginger nodded, and John followed her. He quickly left them though, because he had potions in a few minutes. Potions was one of John's favourite classes. He didn't know why, though.

John ran to the classroom in the dungeons, since he knew he was going to be late if he didn't. He ended up getting there right before the bell, so he was safe, at least for now.

John decided to sit where Harry and Ron had decided to sit, mainly because, he hated everyone else.

John didn't talk to them, and they didn't attempt to converse with him either. John was sure though, that they kept stealing glances at him. Trying to figure out what was so off about him, probably.

Mid-class, Malfoy strode in, arm bound in bandages and in a sling. John bit down a rather nasty comment. Snape didn't seem to have an issue with the tardy Malfoy. To John's horror, Malfoy joined John, Harry, and Ron at their table.

"Sir!" Malfoy called, "I'll need help cutting up these daisy roots because of my arm-"

Snape didn't even look up. "Weasley, cut up Malfoy's roots for him."

"There's nothing wrong with your arm!" Ron hissed at Malfoy, who smirked.

"You heard professor Snape," Malfoy mocked, "cut up the roots."

Ron grabbed a knife, and began to attack the roots by cutting them recklessly.

"Professor!" Malfoy said, in a faked voice. "Weasley is mutilating my roots, sir."

Snape approached their table and his mouth turned at the corners when he noticed Ron's original roots.

"Change roots with Malfoy, Weasley."

"Sir!"

John had noticed that Ron had spent a long time cutting up his roots into perfect, symmetrical sizes. John looked at his own, which were done in about five minutes and looked just as good. John smirked to himself silently.

"And sir," Malfoy added. "I'll need my Shrivelfig skinned."

"Potter, you can skin Malfoy's Shrivelfig," Snape said, with a cruel 'smile'.

John went back to work on his potion. He noticed that Harry and Ron had gone silent. After a couple minutes, Malfoy broke the silence.

"Seen your pal Hagrid lately?" He said in a laugh-whisper.

John had been there, silently laughing that day when Malfoy had been 'attacked' by the hippogriff, Buckbeak. It was what landed him in the hospital wing. However, Hagrid had been the instructor that day, so it was technically his fault a students was harmed.

"None of your business!" Ron shot back.

"Won't be teaching much longer…" Malfoy taunted. "Father isn't very happy about my injury…"

"Keep talking, and I'll give a real injury," Ron snarled.

John smiled into his work. Ron was so clueless.

"... He's complained to the school governors and the Ministry. He's got a lot of influence," Malfoy let out a sigh. "Oh, who knows whether my arm will ever be the same again?"

"It'll become shitty as hell, instead of shitty as all hell, like it right now?" John muttered under his breath.

Malfoy glared at him, but John ignored it. He continued working, remember, education first.

"You're strange, you know," Malfoy confirmed.

"Haven't heard that one before…"

Malfoy eyes him even more. "You know, I have memorised the name of every single prominent Pureblood-"

"Emphasis on prominent," John said.

Malfoy chuckled. "That's what you get for being a Blood Traitor, _nothing_."

"At least I'm not you."

Harry and Ron snickered.

"You wish you were me, _Smith_."

"No, I really don't."

They were interrupted, however, by Snape having an outburst against Neville Longbottom. _Trypical._

The rest of class went by uneventfully, except for the end where Snape removed five points from Gryffindor because Hermione helped out Longbottom. John didn't really care about House Points, though.

* * *

John was slightly out of breath when he reached Defense Against the Dark Arts class. Next year, he would not be taking so many courses. It was too much work, and the hourglass wasn't really much help for the tiredness.

Right at the beginning of the lesson though, John knew it would be worth it.

The newby professor, Lupin walked into the classroom and grinned. "No need for your books. Today, we'll start off with a practical lesson. Just your wands, please."

Eventually, Lupin lead them to an empty corridor, and then another one, and then- They stopped a the staffroom, which was empty except for one teacher, Snpe.

Lupin was just about to close the door when Snape snarled, "Leave it, I don't want to watch these disappointments."

Lupin smiled again. "Ok, then class. First off, I want to know: What do you know of Boggarts?"

Hermione instantly raised her hand. Of course, John knew. He was just too lazy to raise his hand.

Hermione being the only one with her hand up, was obviously chosen. "It's a shape-shifter. It takes the shape of whatever it thinks will frighten us the most."

John frowned, and raised his hand.

"Yes?" Lupin called.

John wasn't used to asking questions. "Uh, sir? Um, does the Boggart show a person's true fear, or what scares us the most?"

Lupin cocked an eyebrow. "I don't see what the difference is Mr.-"  
"Smith, sir," John was gaining his confidence. "You see, I could be scared of "A" at this moment, but my true fear could be "B".

Lupin nodded. "Ah, I see. I think, that there are rare cases in this class where it will not be "B."

John frowned, but nodded.

Lupin continued on with his class, even Harry answered a question.

At last, came the practical bit. After learning the spell " _Riddikulus,"_ they were to attempt it on a Boggart. John had a pretty good idea on what it would be, and he wasn't looking forward to it.

Neville went first, his Boggart turned into professor Snape (John thought that was the _stupidest_ fear ever). But after muttering the spell, " _Riddikulus"_ Snape was suddenly dressed in old, grandma clothing, and was clutching a red purse.

Everyone laughed, except John. It seemed kind of stupid.

A girl, Parvati, was next up. Her Boggart turned into a mummy, and John bit the insides of his mouth.

Seamus was up after her, and his Boggart dissolved into an ugly banshee. Though, _every_ banshee was ugly.

Dean had some trouble with his, but he got it in the end. Ron was next, and his turned into a large, hairy spider.

" _Riddikulus"_ Ron cried, and its legs disappeared.

Lupin eyed the class. He glanced at John, and his hearts stopped. Wait, what?

"Mr. Smith! You haven't gone!"

John shrugged. "Neither has Harry."

Lupin considered him, but continued, "Come on!"

John sighed, and went to the front of the class, next to Lupin.

Lupin whispered, "What do you think your Boggart will be?"

John stepped back from the teacher. "A Dementor," he said silently.

Professor Lupin seemed dumbfounded for a moment. "Perhaps you shouldn't-"

John shook his head. "I'm going to have to face it one day, aren't I? Might as well start learning."

Lupin looked like he was going to object, but it was too late. John jumped in front of the legless spider.

 _Crack!_

The Boggart changed its shape, but it wasn't a Dementor… It was a sort of… doorway…

John stared at it for a bit. He was confused. He looked right into it, and it looked right into him. John felt a pain in his gut, and he lurched forward, clutching his stomach.

Lupin leapt in front of him, but the Boggart didn't change. It remained there, colours swirling, changing in a million ways… It was Time, John realized. John was acred of… Time? But this wasn't right. John wasn't scared of time, it was the sheer knowledge and power _of_ Time that scared him.

Professor Lupin was yelling something, but John couldn't hear it. All he felt was the pain of millions of years washing over him. He had to look away, he had to… He was going to go mad…

Some instinct kicked in, _Run._

And John ran. He bolted out of the staff room and into the hallway. He didn't know where he was going, he just had to run. And never stop.


	7. The Untempered Schism

***Yay! Chapter 7!**

* * *

Clara bit her tongue. It was lunch, and she hadn't seen John since the morning. Clara had a feeling bad feeling about something.

Clara continued eating in silence, at least until Hermione sat down across from her. Clara could practically feel the pride vibes emanating from Hermione.

Hermione took a bite of her food and sighed. "Clara," she started, "Is John OK?"

The question kind of threw Clara off guard. She gulped. "Why wouldn't he be?"

Hermione straightened herself. "I'm sure he told you about what happened in Divination."

Clara nodded, then frowned. "Well, sort of. He told me a bit, I sorta had to piece it together myself from all the gossip."

Hermione nodded. "Did you hear about today DADA's class?"

Clara clenched her jaw, but nodded slowly. "I heard a students ran out of class… Was it John?"

Hermione took another bite of her food, then looked down and sighed. "His Boggart was weird. It didn't go away when professor Lupin stepped in front of it," Hermione looked back up, to stare Clara right in the eye. "And," Hermione added, "It seemed to have a weird effect on John. Lupin found him in a hallway. He was in the hospital wing for a bit."

Clara lurched out of her seat. "We need to go visit him!"

Hermione shook her head wildly. "Oh, no! He's out now. He did miss a class though. But, I'm guessing you haven't seen him."

"I haven't seen him in a long time. He's been sort of distant since the beginning of the year," Clara said.

"Watch him," Hermione said slowly. "I think something's going on. First the Dementor, then Divination class, then the Boggart?"

Clara held her breath and slowly exhaled. She looked around. "Where are Ron and Harry?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "They're boys, what'd you expect?"

"Um, have you met Ron? He would marry a chicken if he could. Ron would almost never miss out on food."

Hermione frowned at her comment. "Clara, you are very… strange."

Clara laughed. "Been called that before."

Then, John, Harry, and Ron walked into the Great Hall. the room went silent as they looked at the three boys with curiosity.

The boys took a seat beside Clara. Clara looked at John with worry.

"What?" he asked, while picking his food.

"Are you OK?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Because of DADA-"

"Hey," Ron interrupted. "What _was_ your Boggart?"

Hermione elbowed him in the arm for his rudeness, but Clara could tell that she was thinking the same thing. They all were.

John shrugged. "Not what I thought it would be."

Harry peered at him. "And what exactly did you think it would be?"

John stared at his food for a second. "A Dementor."

"Oh."

Clara smiled sympathetically at John. Even the word Dementor brought chills to Clara. And yet, Clara still had not told anybody about what happened… Except for Malfoy, but that didn't count. Then again, It didn't really matter now, because she was alive _right now_.

Clara shook the thoughts out of her head. She repeated Ron's question, just gentler this time. "John, what was your Boggart?"

John gulped. "The Untempered Schism."

"What?" Everybody asked at once.

John stared at up and frowned. "It's a rift in Time and Space."

"Excuse me?" Hermione asked. Clara had to admit, she was a little confused.

John waved his hand about. "It's complicated, you wouldn't understand."

Hermione crossed her arms. "Try me."

John smiled. "Ok, then. The Untempered Schism as I said, is a rift in Time and Space, It's a hole where you can see the whole of creation. All of Time and Space pours through your head. Everything, all at once."

Clara gaped, and Hermione let out a scoff.

"John, even if that were real, how do you know so much about it?"

John screwed up his face in concentration. "I don't know sometimes," he admitted. "It's just- I _knew_ , the moment I looked into it. That's why I had to run, for one moment, I knew everything that happened, must happen, and what must not happen. It _hurt_."

Clara closed her eyes. This all seemed so familiar, yet she couldn't place it.

Hermione didn't seem pleased. "Give it back to professor McGonagall," she demanded.

John instantly reached for his pocket, then gingerly brought it back to his fork.

"I'm sorry, bring what back to professor McGonagall?" Harry asked.

Hermione ignored him, and stared at John. "I have a feeling that this isn't about some fake schism, but instead about you fooling around! Give it back!"

"What are you talking about?" Clara pressed.

"John!" Hermione ordered. "You will drop the extra courses, and return it to professor McGonagall! You obviously don't know how to handle something so important!"

"Oh and you do?" John shot back.

Hermione stood silenced for a second. "Yes, John I do," she managed.

"I'm not dropping the classes! I get A's!" John said.

Clara banged her fist on the table. "Could you all _please_ shut up?"

Hermione and John instantly closed their mouths. Ron snorted.

"Clara, you just completed the impossible."

"There's a reason why I'm called the Impossible Girl."

John banged his forehead with his hand. "I've heard that before!" He hit his head again. "Where did I hear that before?"

Hermione slapped him. "Could you just-?"

John smiled, "Nope!" He frowned immediately after, "Also, why is always the women that hit me?"

Clara took in a sharp breath. "Keep going, and I'm going to smack you."

John stood up abruptly, and shouted, "The Snog Box! That's what she called it!" This earned some weird looks from all over.

"Get, period, down, exclamation mark!" Clara commanded.

But, John ran off. Clara sighed.

"What was that about?" Harry asked.

Clara slumped her forehead against the table, then came back up with a shy smiled. "Boys and hormones?" she reasoned.

"Eew. Honestly Clara! The things you say!" Hermione complained.

Clara shook her head. "You can't blame me, I'm twelve."

Ron and Harry looked at her with wide eyes. They quickly picked up their things.

"Uh, we've ugh, gotta go," Harry said quickly. They walked off.

Clara looked back at Hermione, who looked disgusted, and smiled. "See? Boys and hormones."


	8. Cats be Killin'

*** Can you believe that it is May 1st? I can't... How the time flies...  
**

* * *

It had been a couple weeks since Hermione had blown off on him. John almost wanted to return the Time Turner, only because he realized that his classes were extremely boring. There were some days where John didn't bother to go to some of his classes. But then again, John rarely paid attention anyway. His school work wasn't great, but his marks were over the top. John could sense that Hermione was jealous. That brought a smile to John's face.

Another reason John wanted to return the device, was because he was struggling to face Divination class. Professor Trelawney always made faces at him whenever he dropped down the ladder, and she had a slight quiver in her voice when she talked. It was really starting to aggravate John. He couldn't help it if weird stuff kept happening to him. John was starting to sympathize toward Harry Potter.

Nevertheless, John was struggling to find anything new about the mysterious "Blue Box." There was nothing on it, besides footnotes that really didn't help John. John sighed and joined Clara and her friends who were doing homework together.

Clara was on her stomach, completing a Transfiguration essay with Ginger. Ron and Hermione were working on their star charts for Astronomy. John rolled his eyes, as Astronomy was _way_ too easy for him.

John sat crossed-legged beside them. Hermione frowned in his direction.

"John, I know you don't do your homework, so please, don't bother me."

John smiled. "Just your luck Granger," John pulled out his astronomy notes, "Today is the day I do my homework!"

Hermione rolled her eyes, and continued labelling the star chart. Ron grimaced in John's direction, while Clara just sighed.

John took a look at his work, at groaned. He had done this when he was eight years old. It was much too easy. In less than ten minutes, (John had _awful_ handwriting) John had managed to fill out the whole chart. He tucked his work away away and looked expectantly at Hermione.

Hermione scoffed, "You can't have finished!" She complained.

John cracked his knuckles. "This stuff was elementary. I'm surprised you're not done yet."

Ron peeked up from his work. "Hey, mate, mind if I take a look?" He pointed at his not-nearly-done star chart.

John shrugged, and handed Ron his completed work.

"John!" Hermione snapped. "You can't just show Ron your work!"

John snorted. "Why the hell not?"

Hermione took in a deep breath. " _Because_ , then he won't learn anything!"

"He already didn't know anything!" John shot back.

"Oi!" Ron complained.

John waved it off. "Plus, now that he has the chance to actually learn what all the stars are called. He might do well on this test. Honestly, as his friend you should at least _try_ to help."

"I do help Ron!"

John quirked an eyebrow. "Literally every time he asks for your notes, you just leave him hanging with nothing. I'm doing more than you ever had."

Hermione growled. "You are such an insufferable prat!"

" 'Mione, calm down!" Ron said carefully.

"Don't you tell me what to do, Ronald!" Hermione spat.

Clara got up off her stomach. "Hermione, why don't you just breathe a bit. John's always like this, and you know it."

At that moment, Harry walked in with Fred and George trailing behind him. Harry bit his lip. "What'd I miss?"

Clara went back to Ginger's side. "Nothing," she said plainly.

Harry nodded slowly. "Ok, then. So what have we got this weekend?"

"We have the Hogsmeade trip this weekend," Ron pointed at at ratty, old notice board, "End of October, Hallowe'en."

Harry groaned. Hermione gave him a sympathetic look.

"Fantastic!" Fred said, "I need some Stink Pellets from Zonko's. I'm almost out!"

Harry sat on a chair. He slunk away carelessly.

"Don't worry," Hermione soothed. "They'll catch Black soon-"

John sat up, "What does Black have to do with this?"

Hermione gave him a look. "If you were paying any attention, Black is after Harry."

John frowned. "I hate it when people are trying to murder me."

"It's not funny!" Hermione exclaimed.

"I know it's not! Getting fired at by a Dalek is _not_ fun!" john flinched on the inside, he hoped it didn't show.

Miraculously, it didn't. But, Hermione was still seething.

"A _what?"_

John smiled. "Got ya."

Clara pointed at John then Hermione. "I don't know what _this_ is."

John's face lit up. "I know! It's like when River and I had a fight, and she turned me into an otter. Honestly, I think otters have a better life than you humans."

Hermione blinked. "River _who_? And _you_ humans? You make absolutely no sense, John!"

"Thank you."

Hermione sighed, then turned her attention back to Harry, who was wide-eyed.

"You shouldn't worry, Black's already been spotted, OK?"

"Maybe you can ask McGonagall to go. The next trip won't be for _ages_ ," Ron piped.

"Ron! Harry is supposed to stay in school. I really don't think McG-"

"Thanks Ron," Harry interrupted. "I think I _will_ ask her."

John could tell that Hermione wanted to argue, but right then, her ugly cat came trotting up. It had a large spider hanging from its mouth.

"Do you really have to eat that in front of us?" Ron criticized to the cat.

Hermione seemed instantly happier though. "Oh, Crookshanks! Did you catch that all by yourself?"

The cat said nothing, (thank Holy Merlin) and chewed slowly on the spider, eyeing Ron.

"Just stay over there," Ron said to the cat. "I have Scabbers sleeping in my bag."

John snorted. "Why would you tell that to the cat? Also, have you thought that maybe 'Scabbers' might die from lack of oxygen?"

"Cats don't speak English, John," Hermione reminded.

Meanwhile, Ron looked horrified, then instantly checked his bag to see if Scabbers the rat was OK. He sighed in relief.

Harry pulled out his bag of work as well. "Merlin, I hate homework."

Ron gave a nervous smile. "Here, you, can copy off mine. Er, rather John's."

Hermione opened her mouth, but Clara interrupted.

"It won't be your fault when they get caught."

The boys shrugged it off. And then, Crookshanks pounced on Ron.

"OY!" Ron shrieked. He turned toward Hermione. "GET YOUR RUDDY ANIMAL OFF!" Apparently, Crookshanks had attached his claws to Ron's school bag.

"Ron, don't hurt him!" Hermione squealed.

Ron flung around, furiously. John looked to see the whole common room watching. And then, Ron whirled his bag around, and Sabbers went airborne.

Crookshanks ran off to find the rat, while Rin screeched, "CATCH THAT CAT!"

Scabbers ran around the common room, and dashed underneath a cupboard, with Crookshanks on his tail. Students gave moans of protest, when Ron went diving through them , trying to get his rat. Hermione frantically pulled Crookshanks off his feet.

Finally, Ron was able to get Scabbers out from underneath the cupboard. "You keep your cat away from poor Scabbers!" Ron dangled Scabbers in front of Hermione, which must _not_ have been good for it either.

Hermione drew in a shaky breath. "Ron," she said calmly, " _All_ cats chase rats."

"But this one has got it for Scabbers! John was right, I shouldn't have told it that Scabbers was in my bag," Ron spat. Then, he marched off to the boys' dormitories.

John crossed his arms. " _Cats_ , why do they hate people?"

Hermione glared at him, "No John, all cats just hate _you_."

"That explains a lot."


	9. Fear Can Bring You Together

*** Please, please, please, don't kill me. This chapter was neceessary for the story...**

* * *

The Hogsmeade trip had arrived, and Clara was honestly a little put down. Her being a second year meant that she couldn't go. Meanwhile, John had apparently found his signed form in his trunk.

John had honestly thought that he had forgotten to show his parents the form, but then, he found it in the pocket of his trunk. Clara cursed him for being so blind.

Clara worked on her potions homework, which was getting increasingly difficult. Professor Snape seemed to be in a worse mood than usual, and bags were forming under his eyes.

Clara moaned in protest, as her hand started to cramp up. She thought of momentarily asking Ginny for help, when she realized that her friend was out with some other girls.

Recently, Clara had been hanging out much more with John, Harry, Hermione, and Ron. Ginny always said that she didn't mind, but Clara needed some space from her third-year friends. She got up from her seat, and headed toward the portrait hole, when Harry walked in.

Instantly, Colin Creevy cornered him. "Hello Harry!"

Clara laughed at Harry's dismal look. She decided to intervene.

"Hi Harry! Do you wanna go to the owlery?"

Harry cocked his head to a side, but got the message. "Yeah."

Clara smiled, and bounded up to his side. "Great!"

The two of them walked casually out of the common room, and when they were out of earshot, Harry sighed.

"Thanks, Clara."

"No problem. Colin can be a bit annoying," Clara said.

Harry stopped walking, and Clara turned. "What are you doing?" She asked.

Harry looked stumped. "Um, I thought you were just trying to get me out of that situation-"

Clara smiled. "Well, yes I was. But, that doesn't mean I don't want to go to the owlery. I need to send some stuff to my dad. You know, letters and all that rubbish."

Harry nodded. "Then, I'll be off-"

"You can come along!" Clara offered.

Harry shrugged. "OK."

"Good! Now, off to see the wizard?" Clara asked jokingly.

Harry gave her a quizzical look. "That's a Muggle thing. I thought you were a Pureblood."

Clara sighed. "I know a lot about Muggles. Not all Purebloods are like Malfoy." Clara felt her body temperature rise. She _still_ had not told anyone of her past _condition_.

Harry nodded.

"I had this Muggle friend, actually," Clara said. "Nina her name was." Clara smiled to herself. "First person I ever fancied."

Clara noticed Harry's shocked face and laughed. "I was going through a _bit_ of a phase."

Harry laughed nervously. "OK, and you learned everything about Muggles from her, I'm guessing."

Clara nodded. "Yep. though, there was also Danny." Instantly, Clara's mouth went metallic. A face popped up in her thoughts, the man in the silver suit. But, that didn't have to do anything with Danny.

"Oh?" Harry asked.

Clara bit her lip. "He was my best mate. He completely understood me when my mum died," Clara paused. "For a while, my dad wouldn't _live_. He just worked and took care of me, physically. Danny was my mate through it all, and really helped."

"I'm sorry," Harry said sadly.

Clara turned toward him. "Don't be," she said, maybe a little too harshly. "It was my loss, not yours. You have enough sorry on your own."

"I-I'm sorry-"

"Hey!" Clara exclaimed.

Harry blushed and laughed. "I _apologize_ -"

"Those words are synonyms!"

"Fime, I'm _not_ sorry! Happy?"

"Yes!"

Harry rolled his eyes. Clara felt herself being pulled closer to him. Her shoulder was touching his and…

"Bloody hell," Clara muttered under her breath.

Harry turned toward her. "What?"

Clara made a few inches of distance between her and Harry. "Sorry, just thinking out loud," she lied. It was a good lie though, she was a _really_ good liar.

" _You know me, I am an_ incredible _liar!" The familiar woman declared._

 _The silver armoured_ thing _cocked its head. "Correct," it decided, and the woman was hit with a blinding light into unconsciousness._

Clara's breathing slowed a bit. She had to stop having these moments of whatever they were. Harry closed the space that Clara had created between them.

"So…" he said casually.

' _Bloody hell, Clara! Breath! Breath!'_ Her mind screamed that in her head, and Clara forced a smile.

Luckily, she was saved from any embarrassment. Professor Lupin came trotting into the corridor they were walking in, and took a look at the two students. It was a _long_ look.

' _So much for not being embarrassed.'_ Clara's cheeks were starting to warm up.

"Miss Oswald," Professor Lupin greeted, "Harry."

Clara found it weird that he addressed Harry informally. "Professor," Clara said.

Professor Lupin smiled warmly. "Are you friends with John?" he asked suddenly.

Clara was perplexed by the question. "Yes, sir."

"Has he told you anything about his boggart?" Professor Lupin asked.

Clara shook her head. "Nothing sir," she lied. It was John's secret to tell, not hers,

"Very well," Professor Lupin said. He then gave a sympathetic smile. "Mind if I borrow Harry?" It was most definitely not a question.

Clara nodded curtly. "See you back at the common room."

Clara skipped off, toward the owlery and when she finally got there, she was glad of the cold. Honestly, her insides were jumbling. Clara suddenly lurched forward onto the ground. She felt one of those visions surfacing, but this one _hurt so much more._

 _The woman was sitting on a couch, next to a man. Clara recognized this man to be the one she saw earlier, in the silver suit. The woman leaned forward, and Clara caught her breath. The woman kissed the man._

 _Clara knew she was intruding on something, but it almost felt like Clara_ knew _the feeling. But she couldn't have! She was twelve!_

 _Then, as the 'memory' slipped away, Clara faintly heard the woman say, "Fear is like...a companion. A constant companion, always there. But that's okay, because fear can bring us together. Fear can bring you home."_

Clara found herself on the ground of the owlery. She took a deep breath, which hurt because of the piercingly cold air. Clara coughed, and got up. She patted her cloak down, gingerly. Her fingers were numb, and her lips were dry.

Clara didn't have the energy to find a willing owl to carry her letter to her father. They all seemed a bit on edge, and Clara sighed in exasperation.

With disappointment, Clara walked back to the common room. She had gotten nothing done, and she had a stupid _crush_ on one of her best friends! Clara felt awful, since she felt like Ginny was going to be jealous.

"Why does life have to be so Merlin-be-damned complicated?" Clara muttered. She made her way down a corridor, and found Harry, Hermione, and Ron walking together toward the Great Hall.

Clara was confused. Hermione and Ron were supposed to be at Hogsmeade, right? She ran up to them.

"Hey, Clara!" Ron said brightly. He had obviously gotten high off of sugar.

"Heyyy," she said slowly.

Harry frowned. "Where were you? You didn't see you in the common room."

"What time is it?" Clara suddenly asked.

"Um, it's seven o'clock."

"Shi-" Clara stopped herself at Hermione's look. She sighed. "Sorry, I lost track of time. I was a the owlery, then I walked a bit, and… yeah…"

"I left you at about one o'clock," Harry pointed out.

Clara nodded. "I've been dilly-dallying for six hours. I met up with some girls, ran into some ghosts, and it totalled up to be six hours."

Hermione smiled, oblivious to Clara's lie. She turned in Harry's direction.

"What were you guys doing?" She asked casually.

Harry shrugged. "We were going to go to the owlery together, then Professor Lupin pulled me out. Speaking of, Snape walked in on us talking…"

Harry ranted on about thinking that Snape was trying to poison Professor Lupin. Clara simply _tried_ to enjoy her Halloween feast. At least, until John came bounding in with an armful of candy and chocolate. (Insert sugar high warning [here]) Clara let her forhead slump onto the table.


	10. When Paintings Go Missing

*** Ok, so I actually had this chapter ready for DAYS, I just didn't want to post it quite yet. I like making you guys suspenseful. I'm a _really_ nice person.**

* * *

John was walking with Clara and Ginger back to the Gryffindor common room from the Halloween Feast, when he met a mob of confused students.

"What is going on?" Clara muttered.

Ginger sniffed. "I don't know, but I'm tired. I ate way too much."

John looked at Ginger. "Yeah, you never want to do that."

"May I have your attention?" Dumbledore's voice boomed from ahead. John couldn't really see the headmaster, but his voice was loud enough. "Thank you," Dumbledore continued, "All the Gryffindor students must head back to the Great Hall, as there is some investigating to be done."

John rolled his eyes. "Seriously?"

Clara sighed. "Well," she linked her arm to John's and Ginger's, "We'd better be off."

The three friends walked in silence to the Great Hall. John was very bored, and he was itching to just get away from so many people.

And then, it got ten times worse, or rather four times worse because _every single student_ from _every single house_ was crowding the Great Hall.

"No way," John groaned.

"Well, I want to know what the bloody hell is going on!" Ginger snapped.

Right then, professor McGonagall closed the Great Hall doors. They were trapped in the Great Hall. Wonderful.

"As the teachers and I conduct a very thorough search of the school," Dumbledore's voice bellowed, "All students are to sleep here for the night. Prefects will stand guard outside the entrance of the Great Hall, while the Head Boy and Girl will be in charge."

Ginger moaned. "Percy will be in charge?"

Clara looked around the room, "More to the point, are we going to be sleeping on tables?"

As if Dumbledore had heard her though, all the tables flew to the end of the room, and the Great Hall was covered in a mass of hundreds of purple sleeping bags.

"Where should we sleep?" Clara asked.

Ginger grabbed her bag. "I definitely don't want to sleep close to the center. I'll be in Percy's line of fire."

Clara nodded. "We could go join Harry and the others." Was it John's imagination, or did Clara's voice quiver slightly?

"Sure," Ginger replied.

John groaned internally, since he was almost always with Harry, Hermione, and Ron. But, John knew that Clara's decision was final. He grabbed his sleeping bag, and followed the two girls to the corner where Harry, Hermione, and Ron had set up their stuff.

"Mind if we join?" Clara asked timidly.

Hermione nodded happily, until she noticed John. Her expression immediately darkened.

John sat on his sleeping bag. "So, what happened?"

Harry looked confused. "Um, weren't you there?"

John scoffed. "If I were there, I wouldn't be asking. All I know is that the Gryffindors were involved, since they seem to be the chattiest of them all."

"Oh," Harry said. "Well, the Fat Lady portrait is missing."

"Wow. Maybe she went on a walk?" John suggested.

Hermione sighed. "She's a _portrait_."

John nodded, then asked, "But is the whole painting missing, or just her?"

"No, it's just her," Ron said.

John scratched his head. "As I said before, maybe a walk?"

Hermione glared on John. "Why on Earth would she do that?"

"Um, maybe because we live in a magical world where literally everything is possible? Or, did you miss that?" John retorted.

"I reckon it has something to do with Sirius Black," Ron offered. "Peeves was yapping about it when we got to the scene."

John made a mental note of that. "So, Black is involved, and the professors are trying to find him," He made looked at everybody around him. "Perhaps, he's still in the school. Perhaps, he's looking for Potter here…"

Harry stood up. "Everybody keeps telling me that? Why?"

John snorted. "Haven't you noticed Harry, that everything that happens at this school is somehow connected to you?"

"You can't just make assumptions like that!" Hermione hissed.

John shrugged. "Probability."

"Alright!" Percy yelled. "Everybody in their sleeping bags _now_. Lights out!"

John was given three second of warning time, and every candle blew out except for the ones the ghosts were holding.

Of course, John couldn't sleep. He also had a faint idea that nobody else was asleep either. John could literally hear Harry's lips move, mouthing something to his friends. John didn't really care to pay attention to Harry's 'conversation,' so he left it alone.

John was starting to wonder if he would be able to sneak out of the Great Hall, but he decided against it. There were too many people on red-alert. John tried to concentrate on something else.

He settled on trying to listen to his heartbeat, counting each pulse. But, once he had been counting for two hours, he got bored. John struggled to find something else to entertain him. He decided to revise his multiplication table, and once he got to 1245 x 1673, he stopped. Honestly, he skipped a few of the easy ones.

John's body clock told him it was 3:47 AM. John sighed at the time. _10:47 EST… 7:47 PST…_ John tossed and turned with utter boredom. He kept thinking about random things like: food, animals, people, places, different languages…

John had a mental conversation with himself in German.

" _Wie gehts?" sagte er hoflich._

" _Mir gehts es gut," er antwortete. "Aber, ich bin unglaublich langweilig"_

" _Ich auch."_

" _Wir sind die gleiche person."_

" _Oh, ja."_

John's thoughts were interrupted however, by a conversation between Dumbledore, Snape, and Percy. Apparently, Black had not been found, but all Gryffindor would be able to go back to their common room tomorrow. John sighed with relief, as he wasn't sure he would be able to stay sane any longer. Usually, he would just read books all night and not worry about sleep. Who needed to sleep anyway? Wimps, that was for sure.

The professors walked away silently, and Percy huffed indignantly.

At around six, John was once again startled out of his thoughts, but this time, it was Clara. He turned to see her sweating and moaning in her sleep. It was obvious she was having a nightmare. John wasn't sure what to do, though. He wasn't good with people.

John looked out the large windows. The sky was still dark, but he could see the sun's orange glow on the horizon. He turned back at Clara, trying to make out what she was saying. With horror, he realized his friend was… crying.

" _I nearly didn't press that button! I nearly got it wrong. That was you, my friend, making me scared... Making me feel like a bloody idiot_ ," Clara moaned softly.

John got out of his sleeping bag, and started to shake Clara's arm, trying to wake her up. But, it just seemed to make it worse.

" _Oh, don't you ever tell me to mind my language! Don't you ever tell me to take the stabilisers off my bike! And don't you dare lump me in with the rest of all the little humans that you think are so tiny and silly and predictable! You walk our Earth, Doctor, you breath our air, you make us your friend. That is your moon, too, Doctor, and you can damn well help us when we need it!"_

"Clara!" John whispered. He shook her a little harder. She seemed to have calmed down a bit, and her sentences were getting a bit choppier.

" _Yeah? Well, clear off! Go On! Get back in your lonely... your lonely bloody TARDIS, and you don't come back — and_ you don't come back."

John backed off. What was it she said? TARDIS? He had heard that… John tried one last time though, to wake his friend up from her nightmare.

"Clara, you need to wake up!"

Clara suddenly lurched upward, and she slapped John right across the face. "You go away! And you don't come back. OK? You go a long way away!" She shrieked out loud.

John stumbled backward, touching his face. He didn't know what to say. Obviously, the whole Great Hall woke up at Clara's outburst, though.

Clara clamped her mouth. Slowly, she removed her hand and started sobbing. "Oh my God John. I am so sorry-" she started, but her voice broke.

John didn't say anything. He kept his mouth shut, and just stared at clara. He barely even noticed Ginger and Hermione coming up to Clara and consoling her, quietly.

"What is going on here?" Percy sneered from behind John.

"We're helping our friend, who had a nightmare, _Percy_ ," Ginger snarled back.

Percy looked a bit taken aback. "Very well, just make it quick," He turned back to the whole Great Hall, "All of you! Get. Back. To. Sleep!"

Harry and Ron were gaping in John's direction.

"Is she alright?" Ron asked.

"No Ron, she's fine. Why else would she slap me across the face?" John said warily.

Hermione snapped her attention back to John. "What did you do?" She hissed.

John pointed at himself. "Me? I didn't do anything. I was trying to wake her up!" He hissed back.

"Then, why is she crying?" Hermione snapped.

"It's OK," Clara said softly. "I slapped him because I was angry with _him._ "

Hermione stroked Clara's head. "You mean John?"

Clara shook her head slowly. "No, um… It's sorta slipping away now. But, there was this uh- person who I was angry with," she laughed softly, "John just caught me at a bad time."

"Does it have to do with the Dementor?" Harry suddenly asked.

Clara stared at him for a bit. "I- maybe. I don't really know."

John looked intently at Clara for a couple seconds, and realized he couldn't decide whether she was telling the truth or not.

"I'm OK now," Clara said. "I'm sorry if I woke everybody up." She looked back at John with an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry for slapping you as well."

"Don't worry," John said slowly. "I get it a lot."

"You should get it more often," Hermione muttered.

Clara nestled herself back into her sleeping bag. "I'm good now, guys. I swear."

Everybody nodded, and they went back to their sleeping bags. John caught however, Harry gazing in Clara's direction for a second, before quickly curling back into his sleeping bag.


	11. Cold Flight

*** Helloooo! Here is Chapter 11! Honestly, I'm not sure how great this fix is, but I never quit. Until it comes to Track and Field... That's when I just _stop._**

It had been a few days since the incident in the Great Hall, but still, every time she saw John, her cheeks would burn with embarrassment. She hadn't _meant_ to hurt John, but she was just so angry in her dream, or at least that woman was angry. It was honestly getting very confusing.

Today was the Gryffindor vs. Hufflepuff match in Quidditch. Gryffindor was supposed to play Slytherin, but due to Malfoy's "injury," Hufflepuff was playing instead.

Clara was sitting with Ginny and John at the Gryffindor table, eating an early breakfast. Clara and ginny did not want to miss the match, while John was just angry that he got pulled out of his reading session early.

To be honest though, Clara had never actually seen John sleep. No matter how weird that sounded, it was true. John was always reading whenever Clara sent for Harry and Ron to pull him out of the dormitory.

Slowly, Clara ate her porridge. The rain pouring from outside somehow actually soothed Clara, as if it were saying that there were worse things in the world. Clara did feel bad though, for Harry and the team. It would be a very difficult match as the weather was horrid for playing in.

"Come on," Clara said. "We should go if we want good seats."

"There are no good seats. They're all wet," John said.

"Then, we'll get the best out of the worst seats," Clara said impatiently.

Ginny nodded, and she helped Clara drag John out of his seat. When that was done, they headed for the common room just to grab some umbrellas and cloaks.

Ginny cursed. "This weather is just wonderful. How are we going to win?"

"How is anyone going to win?" Clara remarked.

"True."

Clara grabbed a large umbrella and straightened her outfit. "Good enough for me not get completely soaked?"

Ginny nodded. "Just 99% soaked, not 100."

"Thanks."

John groaned. "I'm not going to be able to read my book!" he complained.

"Put a waterproof charm on it," Clara suggested.

John sighed. "I could do that, but the water will still get in my eyes, and the wind will make my pages fly about-"

"So, just watch the game with us."

"I won't be able to, _because of the rain!_ "

Clara shook her head, along with Ginny. She glanced at a clock in the common room.

"We'd better go," she said.

The trio took off toward the Quidditch stands, and Clara was glad she brought an umbrella. However, that did not protect her from the wind that was causing her to sway about. Her legs shook and her heel would slip as she walked. She looked like a duck.

Clara finally made it to the stands, and she gingerly sat down. Her breath was coming out in white wisps, and a cough was creeping up her throat. She wrapped her cloak around her tighter, trying to keep the warmth in.

"J-john, could you do that charm on our r-robes so that we don't f-feel as c-cold?" Clara stuttered.

John's face was covered in little drops of rain, and he had to raise his voice for Clara to hear him.

"I can't" He said. "It's too difficult in this weather!"

"Ugh!" Clara moaned in protest. Clara hoped the game would start soon.

Finally though, it did. Madam Hooch blew the barely audible whistle, and the game began. Immediately, Clara could see that everyone on both teams was struggling. The wind was causing the brooms to sway slightly in the wrong direction, which was potentially dangerous for the players.

Next to her, John groaned loudly. "I don't see why we came if we're not able to see anything!" he complained.

"For support!" Ginny said. She then shouted, "Go Gryffindor!"

Clara joined in, although it was cold, it didn't stop her from having a little fun. She whooped and yayed until she started coughing really hard.

Then, lightning struck, and everyone went silent for a second, then started cheering even louder. It was weird, but Clara noticed Wood call a time-out, and the teams headed back to the ground.

From a few seats down, Hermione got up, and ran down to the pitch. Obviously, she had some clever way to make Gryffindor win in this weather.

The game started back up again, and Hermione returned to her seat. Clara observed Hufflepuff's seeker, Cedric Diggory, swerve to the right. He wasn't having as much trouble as Harry in this weather, as he was larger and bulkier.

Clara prayed for Harry to catch on, and when he did, Harry was on Cedric's tail in three seconds flat. Clara couldn't see it, but she had a nagging feeling that they were after the golden snitch.

The game went on for another forty-five minutes, until it got unbelievably cold. Clara was just about to ask her friends if maybe returning to the common room was OK, when a sort of shadow feel upon the whole field.

Of course, it had been cold before, but now, it was _freezing._ What used to be white wisps of breath, was now turning into tiny, frozen water droplets that were gently falling onto Clara's lap.

Ginny and John looked like ghosts. Their faces were pale, but their eyes were large, and it was a horrific sight.

"W-what is it?" Ginny asked, her teeth chattering.

John looked up at the sky, slowly. "I-I th-think it's the d-dementors," he turned toward Clara, who was feeling sick, "Think of something happy."

Clara wasn't sure what that meant, but she did so anyway. She thought of her first day at Hogwarts… getting Ginny back from the Chamber…

But her memories were slowly turning darker… Even Ginny was feeling the effects.

"W-why do I f-feel so sad?" she asked.

Clara was about to reply, when a burning sensation reached her temple. She rubbed it tenderly with her fingers, completely forgetting John's instructions.

With a lurch, Clara was sent into one of her trances.

 _The woman had tears pricking her eyes. She was staring a brights light in the centre of the room. It glowed, and Clara could feel the raw power emanating from it._

" _If this works, get out of here as fast as you can. And spare me a thought now and then," the woman said. But this time, Clara didn't want to follow through. She wanted out, she wanted to have her own thoughts, not some strange woman's._

Clara took in a deep breath, and was still feeling extremely cold.

"Are you OK, Clara?" John asked with worry.

Clara was still in the stands, and everybody looked panicked. "What?"

Ginny shook her head. "You started shivering all over for a few seconds. I think that we have to head back, these Dementors sound dangerous. You get pale whenever you even talk about them!"

Clara nodded slowly. "Th-that's a good idea."

Then, somebody screamed.

"Look!" Someone else shouted.

Clara's attention snapped back to the game, where she saw a body falling… With horror, Clara realized she was looking at the tumbling body of Harry Potter.

A flash of light erupted from where the teachers sat, and it was directed toward Harry. Clara didn't have enough energy to shout, or scream, or do anything. She just watched with pure dread.


	12. Make Sure She's Safe

*** Gah! I would've posted this earlier, but today was my birfday celebration. (I meant for the 'f') Anyway, I've fallen into this obsession with quizup. I'm not OK anymore... Oh, wait, I never was XD.**

John couldn't help but stare at the tumbling body of Harry Potter. People were in hysterics, as a fall from that distance was lethal.

Suddenly, everybody gazed at the light that erupted from the professors' stands. It seemed to cushion Harry's fall, and he hit the ground with a _thud._

John whipped his head around to see a very pale looking Clara. John couldn't help but notice that she was shivering all over. Ginger didn't seem too good either. Her eyes were sunken, and her red hair looked lifeless.

John stood up, then immediately sat back down. His legs were stiff and cold, and they wouldn't be able to carry John that much of a distance.

"We need to get to the hospital wing," John declared.

His friends nodded grimly. They gingerly sat up, and rubbed their aching bodies. John noticed that pretty much everyone else in the stands were doing the same. However, they didn't look as affected by the Dementor as John, Clara, and Ginger were. They looked scared, not lifeless.

Clara took a careful step forward. The wind had died down a bit, but it was still raining. She clung onto the rails and started down the stands. John followed her and Ginger, and he soon felt his legs starting to warm up.

Once they reached the ground, they had no support. Clara and Ginger stumbled a bit, while John shuffled forward. Clara collapsed onto the ground.

"Clara!" Ginger cried.

Clara attempted to get up, but failed. "I can't get up. My legs…"

John and Ginger nodded, and they grabbed hold of her and pulled her up. Clara shook her head thankfully, and used them as support to keep walking.

The rain was making this whole ordeal ten times worse. It pricked their already cold skin, and got in their eyes. John could already tell you that many people were going to be visiting the hospital wing for some pepperup.

At last, they were able to get inside the castle. Teachers fussed over them, and when professor McGonagall reached them, she didn't look happy.

"We need to visit the hospital wing, professor," Ginger said. Her voice was shaking slightly.

McGonagall scanned them over. "I see," she looked at them wildly for a second. "Well, get a move on!"

John wanted to say something back, but he was too tired. He heaved as he walked off to the hospital wing, which was crowded by a mass of students.

John muttered to himself, and somehow he was led to an empty bed. Madame Pomfrey only looked at him for a couple of seconds before she yelled at the hoard of students.

"Everybody who is not ill or injured, out _now_!"

She headed back to where John was. She handed him a bar of chocolate. "Here, eat this and you should be fine."

John nodded numbly, and started to unwrap the chocolate, when the world started spinning. A feeling started creeping up John's spine… His vision was blinking, and John shook his head. And, then, John fell asleep.

 _John woke up with a start. He was in a dream… it had to be. But, John's had not experienced any dreams in a long while. He didn't need to sleep anymore. John would just zone out on the boring parts of life, and then snap out, fully rested._

 _John inspected his surroundings. It was that room again… There was this sort of control panel, in the middle of the room, with a glowing, red right. He looked up to see circular bands with some sort of calligraphy on it. It looked distinctly familiar…_

" _Hello," A rough voice said._

 _John stared at the new sight. It was the old man he had seen before. The old man wore striped pants and a purple, velvet suit._

" _Where am I?" John asked._

" _In your head, obviously," the old man answered._

" _My head? Wonderful, I've gone insane!"_

" _You were always a mad man, you know," the old man drawled. He took a couple steps closer to John._

 _John gazed at the man. "If this is my head, why are you in it?"_

 _The old man let out a scoff. "Haven't you figured it out by now?" He turned, and flipped something on the control panel. The circular rings started moving, and the room shaking. The old man stared at John again. "I never realized how not having your memory made you so_ stupid _."_

" _Not having my memory?" John asked. "How do I not have my memory?"_

 _The old man flailed his hands. "You've forgotten! Wonderful, well something happened… And now you're like this!"_

" _Like what?"_

" _Like this. Pay attention, it could help."_

" _You're not making any sense."_

" _I never do!" The old man exclaimed. "Please," he gave John a sort of pleading look, "Tell me you understand."_

" _I don't understand anything you are saying!" John snapped._

" _Why are you so stupid? Why are you even here then?" The old man ranted. "I can't deal with idiots who don't even know what's going on in their own head!"_

" _I can't deal with_ you _!" John retorted._

 _But then, the flashing lights and the shaking stopped. John glanced around furiously. "What's going on?" John said with finality._

" _You're about to find out," the old man said softly._

 _Behind John, two doors swung open. John could tell that whatever was beyond those doors was dangerous. Yet, he couldn't surpass the feeling of curiosity._

 _As if reading his mind, which may not have been difficult since he was in it, the old man said, "Curiosity killed the cat."_

 _John started for the doors, "But satisfaction brought it back, didn't it?" John muttered._

" _Yes, yes it did," the old man confirmed._

 _That made up John's mind. With eagerness, he bolted out of the room, only to be faced with another one._

 _This room was larger, and twelve men were standing in it. They stared at John. The one with a celery stick stick to his coat stepped forward._

'" _John, at one point you are going to have to remember us. But, this isn't the time," he said._

" _What?" John asked incredulously._

 _Another man, this time with a black, leather jacket, stepped forward._

" _We are here to warn you of yourself. You will have to fight to regain what you lost, but once you have it back, there is no return."_

" _What are hell are you even talking about?" John said, angrily._

 _A man with a long, brown coat, and spiky hair, spoke next._

" _You've both already started to remember. An I'm sorry, but the more you know, the more it will hurt."_

" _Then why am I here?" John cried._

 _A childish looking man smiled. He wore a red bowtie, and a fez on his head._

" _John, er, whatever your name is, you're going to have to be very brave now. You will have to fight to keep us alive."_

" _Who are you?"_

 _At last, the old man stepped into the room. He gave a cold look, but what he said, chilled John right to the bone._

" _Whatever you do, make sure that Clara is safe."_

 _And the world turned black._

John drew in a sharp breath. He bolted upright, to face Clara and Ginger, who were _smiling._

"What?" was simply all John could manage.

Ginger shook her head. "You've been here for a couple of hours. You fell asleep. Pomfrey is going to be _pissed_."

"Language!" John scolded.

Clara sighed. "He is such a hypocrite. I've heard worse come from his mouth."

Ginger giggled, and john stared at the two girls painfully. Not only because of his dream, but also because they were too happy for their own good.

Clara flipped her hair back. "So, are we gonna go now back to the common room?"

John nodded grimly. "Guess so."

However, it just so happened that was the exact moment Harry woke up, and a bunch of students swarmed his bed.

John moaned. "Please, can we go?"

Clara shook her head. "No, John. Remember that talk we had about being respectful?"

"No."

Clara covered her face with her hands, while Ginger laughed.

"We have to say that we're thankful that Harry is OK, and that he is awake. Plus, we have to tell him that Gryffindor lost," Clara clarified.

"Wait, they actually continued the game, and people stayed around and watched it?" John asked.

Ginger nodded. "Yeah, they have to continue the game. But, mostly only Hufflepuffs stayed for the last few minutes."

"Whatever," John said, jumping off the bed.

They walked to Harry's bed, where he lay looking confused.

"We didn't lose, did we?" Harry asked. John smiled to himself silently. This was going to be funny.

"Diggory got the snitch," George sighed. "They won fair and square. Even Wood admits it."

"Where is Wood?" Harry asked.

"Still in the showers. We think he's trying to drown himself," Fred said.

"Should've just stayed outside, then," John muttered. Of course, he said it loud enough that everyone turned toward him.

"Aren't you a bright one," George said.

"Very bright," Fred added.

"Boy aren't you _ginger_ ," John replied.

Madam Pomfrey took notice to the crowd around Harry, and scolded them mercilessly.

"Out, out! The boy needs his rest!" She then turned toward john, "And next time, I will make sure to just kick you out of the hospital wing. This is place for healing, not sleep!"

Clara simply shrugged. When they were out of the hospital wing, Clara just grumbled, "Sleep and healing _are_ the same thing, in my opinion."

John just said, "Merlin, I hate sleep."


	13. Tell Us Now

*** Hello guys! I'm not sure I like this chapter, but right now I don't really like _anything. A)_ the 16th was track and field. _B)_ during track and field, my friend told me that a rumor that Ron and Hermione were having marital issues and were getting a divorce in "the Cursed Child." It's probably not true, but it still ruined my day. And every other day until I find out. My heart isn't OK right now... Well enough with my problems, read on!**

* * *

It had been about a week since the Dementors appeared during the Quidditch match, but still the whole school was still feeling its effects.

"It was _awful,_ " a girl Clara passed in the hallway whispered.

"Absolutely dreadful."

"It made me think of my cat that died when I was seven."

And on the list went. Clara doubted they experienced anything like Clara though. She was truly traumatised by these creatures, and she was glad that they weren't allowed to roam freely in the school. Still, Clara had nightmares about what she saw on the train, and some new snippets and scenes.

Clara shivered at the thought. Currently, she was getting ready for sleep, which she both loved and dreaded. Sleep was wonderful, but with it came horrible dreams. They probably wouldn't have been horrible, if Clara actually knew anything about them. It was like intruding on something secretive, and dangerous. Even lethal.

"Ready for bed?" Ginny asked. She was already in her nightgown, and her hair was neatly combed.

Clara nodded. "Yeah, just about." She tucked herself into bed, and blew out her candle once Ginny was OK with it.

Clara shut her eyes firmly. She focused on her breathing, and she felt her chest rise and fall. Before she knew it, she was gone.

 _Clara felt her eyes flutter open. She was in that room again, and she was sitting on a stair, observing that woman, and a man with a funny bowtie._

" _What's wrong? Did the TARDIS say something to you?" The funny man asked the woman. He hit the circular panel in the middle of the room. "Are you being mean?"_

 _The woman shuddered a bit. "No, it's not that. Have we just watched the entire life cycle of Earth? Birth to death?"_

 _It was Clara's turn to shudder. How could you watch the Earth being born and die? It wasn't possible. But also, it was a very cruel thing to watch._

" _Yes," the man answered._

" _And you're okay with that?" The woman asked, with a slight quiver in her voice._

" _Yes."_

 _The woman threw her hands in the air. "How can you be?"_

 _The man gave her a quizzical look. "The TARDIS. She's...time. We...wibbly vortex and so on."_

 _Clara got up from the stair she was sitting on. She walked up to the pair and stared. Of course, this being not real, they didn't notice her._

 _The woman shook her head. "That's not what I mean."_

" _Okay...some help? Context? Cheat sheet? Something?" The man asked._

" _I mean, one minute you're in 1974, looking for ghosts, but all you have to do is open your eyes and talk to whoever's standing there. To you, I haven't been born yet, and to you I've been dead a hundred billion years." The woman looked at the ruined Earth of the distant future displayed on a screen-type thing. "Is my body out there somewhere? In the ground?"_

 _Clara bit her lip. This woman was right, and Clara agreed with every word she said. It was slightly freaky, but then again, so was watching the Earth die._

 _The man straightened his posture. "...Yes, I suppose is it."_

" _But here we are, talking. So I am a ghost. To you, I'm a ghost. We're all ghosts to you. We must be nothing," The woman ranted. She had the slightest hint of tears in her eyes._

" _No...no. you're not that."_

" _Then what are we? What can we possibly be?"_

 _The man gazed into her eyes for a bit. "You are...the only mystery worth solving."_

Clara felt her eyes open to a bright light. She got up to find Ginny not in her bed anymore, and her bed still messy. Ginny wasn't one for neatness.

Clara however, couldn't stand it, so she carefully made her and her friend's beds. She changed into a comfortable pair of black tights, a red skirt, and a warm, black sweater. She smiled at her outfit, as it seemed distantly familiar.

She headed down the staircase to find the common room almost empty. That was to be expected, as it was the first day of the winter holidays. John, however, was nowhere in sight. But, Harry, Hermione, and Ron were sitting beside the fireplace, talking in hushed tones.

Clara walked over to where they were. She smiled as brightly as possible.

"Hello!"

Clara could immediately tell that her friends were not in a happy mood. Harry simply nodded in her direction, Ron grunted, and Hermione said a small, "hi."

"OK, what's up with everyone today," Clara asked slowly.

Hermione bit her lip. "Should we tell her?" she asked Ron and Harry quietly.

Harry winced, but nodded slowly. "I guess we should."

"Tell me… What?" Clara said.

Harry drew in a deep breath. "Sirius Black is my godfather."

Clara bit her tongue. It came as a surprise, but she somehow also _knew_ that it was true. She gestured for Harry to continue.

Harry shifted awkwardly. "He um, he betrayed my parents. He worked for Lord Voldemort and he was their Keeper and-" his voice broke.

Clara knelt by his side, and delicately patted his shoulder. "I'm sorry," she said quietly. Harry sniffled, and Clara grimaced.

"That's not even the worst part," Harry said. He stared at Hermione and Ron for a bit. "Do you know what happens when the Dementors come close to me?" Clara caught her breath, and Ron and Hermione both shook their heads. "I can hear my mum screaming and pleading with Lord Voldemort. And if your mum is screaming like that, just about to be killed, you wouldn't forget it in a hurry. And if you found out someone was supposed to be a friend of hers, and ended up betraying her-"

"There's nothing you can do!" Hermione shrieked. Clara stumbled back a bit, and she could hear the words the woman had said in her dream last night.

" _But here we are, talking. So I am a ghost. To you, I'm a ghost. We're all ghosts to you. We must be nothing."_

Harry gaped a bit, then quickly shook his head when his eyes caught onto Clara. "Clara! I'm sorry I didn't mean to-"

Clara flinched. "I know Harry. But, you're not the only one who feels that way."

Harry looked surprised. "What do you mean?"

Clara took a deep breath. "I mean, the Dementors affect me like that too. Though, they're more like dreams. I can hear her," Clara closed her eyes.

"Clara, I didn't mean to remind you of your mum," Harry apologized.

Clara shook her head. "Not my mum. Just this woman, who I don't even _know_. It's really scary, and I see her everywhere. She's so familiar, but I don't let her get to me. And I think that's what's most important," Clara said. Though, she felt as if she were comforting herself more than Harry.

"Well, that's where we're different!" Harry argued, and clara was slightly taken aback. "You don't know this person, but I do! Hell, even _Malfoy_ knew! He said that after what Black did I would want revenge!"

Clara stood up. "You know, Malfoy honestly used to be one of the worst people I knew, until right now." An image of the man in a bowtie entered her head for a second.

Ron's head jerked up. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Clara couldn't hold it in. "I mean, at least he was bloody willing to listen. Harry is just too stubborn for his own good!"

"What do you mean, 'willing to listen?' "

"Yeah, what'd you mean by that?" Ron echoed.

Clara cursed herself silently. "We spoke a bit, that's all."

"You conversed with that… _thing_?" Ron spat.

"It's not like I _wanted_ to talk to him!" Clara retorted.

Hermione looked carefully at Clara. "Did he force you to talk? Honestly, you should've just ignore him."

Clara took a big step back. "Maybe I should've ignored him, but I did what I did because I would've gone mad without telling _someone_!"

"Why couldn't you just tell us?" Harry asked, in a slightly pained voice.

Clara shook her head. "Because I needed someone at that moment. And, none of you were there. And now, he knows something that I will probably never tell anyone else."

"Clara," a voice from behind her said. She slowly turned around to face John. "Tell us, _now_."


	14. The Hopeful Truth

*** This ia a little shorter than my other chapters, and it's full of angst. I'm just in that mood right now. Also, I'm eating a cookie, and cookies make my hyper AF. Oh, and I would've posted this yeterday, except after classes, I was immersed in Quizup, and, well, yeah... Well, enough of my insanity, read on! _Pufflz!  
_**

* * *

John was never a morning person. It wasn't necessarily because he slept in, because he barely even slept. No, it was because he was often caught reading on his bed. His life basically revolved around reading books. But woah, did this school _need_ a "mature read" section. John shivered slightly.

At around nine, John got hungry, so he threw on some "presentable" clothing as Clara had told him. Why did people change their outfits _every single day_? Waste of time, in John's opinion.

And so, book in hand, John made his way out of the boys' dormitories to be met with some yelling. He listened a bit, and the voice was obviously Clara's.

"What did I do this time," John muttered to himself, as he made his way down the staircase. He was standing a few feet away, and was about to say something, when Clara burst out again.

"Maybe I should've ignored him, but I did what I did because I would've gone mad without telling _someone_!" Clara shrieked.

 _What the-?_

"Why couldn't you just tell us?" Harry asked. His voice seemed a little aggravated and rough.

"Because I needed someone at that moment. And, none of you were there. And now, he knows something that I will probably never tell anyone else."

John stiffened. Clara," he said slowly. Clara turned to meet him. "Tell us _now._ "

Clara stood a bit dumfounded for a second. She gazed intently at john, and he could tell that she was silently protesting his command.

"Clara," John said a little more forcefully. He took a step forward. "Please, tell us. Or at least tell me."

Clara opened her mouth, then closed it again. She was obviously thinking for something to say.

"No," Clara said.

"What?"

"She's refusing to say anything to us, but she was able to tell Malfoy," Ron blurted.

John stared at Clara for a bit. "Clara, what happened that you would go to Malfoy and tell him your problems? You could always tell us, you know. We're here to keep you safe and to help-" john was cut off.

"I never asked for you to keep me safe, or to help me!" Clara argued. "Not once, have I asked for your assistance."

John bit his tongue, remembering what he was told by the old man. " _Whatever you do, make sure Clara is safe."_

"Aren't doing a marvelous job at that," John muttered to himself. He shook himself out of his thoughts. "Clara you have to tell us. It's for your own good!"

"My own good?" Clara seethed. "My own _bloody_ good? John smith, you cannot tell me what is good for me, or what to do. Those are my choices. Right now, I am choosing not to tell you!"

"Why not?"

"It's my choice!" Clara yelled back. "You can't force me to tell you _anything_!"

"Clara," John demanded. "You will tell us what happened to you, and you _will_ do it RIGHT NOW!"

Clara shook her head, the obvious tears pricking her eyes. "No. I've told you already," she turned toward Harry, hermione and Ron. "I told you all what I could. I''l tell someone, just now you four." She turned on her heel, and left the common room.

John started after her, "Clara!"

Harry pulled him back. "Don't," he warned. "She'll calm down… eventually."

"How do you know?" John shot.

Hermione put her hands on her hips. "John, you are so clueless," she faced Ron and Harry. "You _all_ are."

She walked out on them, leaving three very confused boys.

"What did Hermione mean?" Harry asked, obviously perplexed.

John sat down uncomfortably in a chair. "You know, I have never had this many problems with a girl until Clara."

"Mate, you didn't have any problems with girls until Clara," Ron said. He was smiling nervously in to make the situation better.

John shook his head. "I told you guys about the otters and River. Honestly, it wasn't my fault. I don't have a calendar that keeps up with these dates!"

Harry looked confused. "Otters? River? Dates?!"

John rolled his eyes. "I forgot her birthday. Worst idea ever."

"How is forgetting someone's birthday and idea?' Ron asked.

"It has to be an idea! There's just way too much going on in my head to think straight right now!" John complained.

Harry exhaled sharply. "You know, maybe we should ask Pomfrey for help. She might give us some clues as to why Clara is acting like this... "

John had a sinking feeling in his gut. "I want to as well…"

Ron shook his head wildly. "Nuh uh! Do you want Clara to get angrier? She'll go mental on us if we find out whatever she's not telling us!"

"She's already pretty mental right now Ron," John snapped.

Harry's shoulders slumped. "It must be pretty bad though… I have had nightmares every night since the Dementor attack… We have to find out what Clara went through."

Ron shook his head again. "If we do that, we'll have Hermione angry at us as well. And I need her in this," he made a circle motion with his hands, "friend group- whatever it is, because otherwise my homework will never get done!"

"Not to mention Ginger," John chimed in.

"What?" Ron asked.

"How can you forget your sister's name?" John asked, confused.

"You mean Ginny?"

Harry smacked Ron on the head, "Yes, he means Ginny! Clara and Ginny are like best mates!"

"Oh."

John waved his hands around chaotically. "Shut up! Both of you! I can't get my thinking straight with you two idiots talking." For some inexplicable reason, they kept talking. It irked John to no end.

Harry looked up. "We could… you know… apologize?"

"And where would that get us?" John asked.

Harry gave a quizzical look. "Somewhere we don't need to worry about three girls killing us?"

"But we won't know anything about Clara's… condition!" John argued.

"Maybe we shouldn't?" Harry said, though it sounded like a question.

"You changed your mind really quickly," John noted.

Harry looked uncomfortable. "Just exploring our options…"

Ron tapped his finger to his chin. "Maybe… if we can't get Clara to tell us say, within a month, we pull out the invisibility cloak and snoop around Pomfrey's office?"

John cocked his head. "That's actually not a bad idea.

Harry cracked his knuckles. "Are we good then?"

Ron nodded, while John shrugged. That was good enough.

Ron raised an eyebrow in John's direction moments after. "Just one question, who is River?"

John rolled his eyes. At one point, he had asked the same thing. "A psychopath who tried to murder me," he answered sarcastically. The two others gave John odd looks.


	15. I Need To Know

*** I've decided to take some inspiration from the Doctor Who soundtrack. I'm thinking of naming my chapters after some of the songs from Season 8. Though, as a disclaimer, I don't own the music, the BBc does along with Murray Gold. Now that that's done, read on!"**

* * *

Clara was positively furious. I mean, how dare he? How dare John Smith think that Clara would just tell him everything? Merlin, he was an utter prat.

Of course, Clara knew that he was trying to protect her, but that wasn't John's job was it? If anything, Clara cared for John more! He would barely make it to class without her help! Clara sighed again. She was heading down to the Great Hall where she would hopefully be able to come up with a plan, while eating a bowl of hot porridge.

As Clara walked in, she noticed that the Great Hall was pretty much empty. Only Ginny was sitting there with her girlfriends, talking about God knows what.

Clara winced internally, as she realized that she would be eating alone today. At that moment though, Hermione tapped her shoulder.

"Hey," Hermione said calmly.

Clara swept a strand of hair that was on her face behind her ear. "Hello," she said with an equal tone.

"Listen, I'm sorry for the three prats in the common room," Hermione said.

Clara flinched. "S'ok," she said slowly. "I might've told them, had they not forced it out of me."

Hermione nodded. "I completely understand," she gave a worried glance. "But, if it's that bad that you have recurring nightmares about it, maybe you should talk to someone?"

Clara got the feeling it wasn't really a question. Clara took a deep breath. "When I'm ready, I'll tell someone. Or, when I talk to the right person, then I'll tell them."

Hermione looked hurt, like she wanted to be the one who solved the problem. It was kind of like the look John made whenever anybody brought up any sort of issue.

"Ok…" Hermione said hesitantly. "But, if you ever need to talk, girl-to-girl…"

Clara flushed. "It's not anything like that! No! I'll just talk to Ginny… Yeah."

"Very well," and Hermione walked off, with a nervous glance off her shoulder.

Clara took a seat at the Gryffindor table, away from Ginny. She sighed heavily, and buried her face in her arms, so that her head was face-down. Clara didn't feel like crying, no. But, John should've known better than to force anything like that out of her, maybe she should've told him her problem ages ago… But still, that didn't mean Clara was going to forgive John.

Also, there was the topic of Harry Potter. While Clara refused to think much of him, the little-girl crush was still there. But, today Harry had seemed different. Obviously grieved with his newfound discovery about Sirius Black, he seemed depressed. Clara really did feel bad for him, finding out a serial killer like Black being your godfather must've been awful.

Though, there was a nagging thought in the back of Clara's head that told her that something awful was going to happen, and it was related to Sirius Black. It wasn't even like Black was the one who caused the problem. It was more like, Clara knew Harry was going to feel grief, and Sirius was in the center of it all.

Clara just lay like that, on the table until another tap appeared on her shoulder.

"Are you dead?" Ginny's voice asked. It was meant in jest, but there was a hint of worry in her voice.

Clara slowly pulled her head out if her arms. She winced at the light. "I'm fine…" She grumbled.

"Don't look it," Ginny said as she slipped into a seat next to Clara.

"Killer headache," Clara said, though she wasn't really lying.

Ginny checked her over. "I believe you, she paused, "but there's something else…"

"Umm… I'm hungry?"

"Well, then you would've eaten something!"

"I couldn't because of my headache," Clara reasoned.

Ginny quirked an eyebrow. "Clara, I'm not stupid."

"When did I say you were?"

"You never said it, you just _think_ I am," Ginny smiled, "and I'm here to tell you that I'm actually quite brilliant."

"Ok…"

"So, what's up?"

"People."

"God, I hate people," Ginny said sarcastically.

"Well, in my case it's more like particular people that are making me angry."

Ginny coughed, "John."

Clara rolled her eyes. "Not just him this time. Throw in Harry and Ron."

"What did my idiot brother do?"

Clara bit her tongue. She could already tell that the truth was going slip out any moment now… "They wanted me to tell them something…"

Ginny nodded. "Ok, and what exactly was this _something?_ "

Clara felt her chest tighten. "Just, something."

"Ok, wanna tell me?"

Clara stared at her friend for a minute. Clara had never realized just how perfectly her friend's freckles fell on her face, or the way her flaming hair just accentuated her personality. It was infuriating really, to have a friend that was this… This… Unique.

Clara slowly shook her head.

Ginny shrugged. "Ok, then. Well, if that's it, I'm going to the common room-" she started to get out of her seat.

"Wait!"

Ginny rolled her eyes, but gestured for Clara to continue.

Clara inhaled. "Remember that day, on the train?" Ginny nodded. "Well," Clara continued, "the Dementors, when they attacked… I saw some stuff, that even _now_ I don't understand! There was this woman, I don't know who, but she keeps popping up here and there in my head, and I don't know what to do!"

Ginny put a tentative hand on Clara's shoulder. "Keep going."

Clara shifted uncomfortably. "Everybody told me I screamed. I don't _remember_ screaming, it just hurt. I saw things that were… Forbidden, that nobody should see. And I just gave out."

"What?"

Clara shut her eyes. "When I woke up, in the hospital wing, Madam Pomfrey said that… That I _died._ I mean, how does that happen? Apparently, I just came back to life! I didn't have a pulse for hours! And then, _poof!_ I'm back."

Ginny gawked at her with wide eyes. "Wow. No I feel bad because I was hanging out with all my other friends, whilst my _best_ friend was suffering from trauma!"

"No. Don't you dare blame yourself in this situation. Not for one moment, I swear if you do-"

Ginny smiled shyly. "I get it, I get it!"

"There's only one other person that knows…" Clara sighed.

Ginny cocked her head. "John? No, Hermione!"

Clara shook her head slowly. With guilt, she muttered, "Malfoy."

"You are kidding me!"

Clara buried her face in her hands. "I feel awful! I didn't tell my friends, instead I told my literal enemy! I hexed him last year too!"

Ginny smiled. "Sadly, I missed that."

Clara felt her heart sink. "Oh my Merlin, I forgot! What about you? I'm here ranting about problems, when you were in the bloody Chamber of Secrets!"

Ginny waved it off. "It was horrible, I'll admit. But, it obviously wasn't anything like what you went through, because I didn't die!"

Clara chuckled. "Only you could joke about my death."

"You're not dead Clara. You are very much alive, so be glad." Ginny twirled her hair within her fingers. "Do you think you'll tell John or any others?"

Clara exhaled. "No… I don't think so… At least, not now. When I'm ready to tell them. They're just not at the top of my lost right now."

Ginny pumped the air. "And I am!"

"Why is it that whenever I try to say something serious, you have to go and ruin it?"

Ginny gave a devilish grin. "I'm just like that." She furrowed her brow. "Hold on, you mentioned a woman that you saw…"

Clara shrugged. "I told you: I don't know her at all. She seems kind of familiar, but it's all weird. Though, every time I see her. She's usually with either this man with the largest chin I've seen, _er_ dreamt, or this old man."

"D'you think you'll ever find out?" Ginny asked.

"One day, maybe."


	16. Every Christmas is Last Christmas

*** Pufflz! So, I've been getting lazy with my writing, and that's my only excuse for posting the chapter a couple days late. Whoops. Anyway, I have promised myself to never go on hiatus, because whenever I see a fanfic that I love, but it's been discontinued... *tears* Anyway, I really wanted to just thank all those who have followed this story, and those who are just tuning in every couple of days and reading without an account. As long as you like it, I'm happy. Vielen Danke!**

* * *

Hours after clara's outburst, Harry, to Ron and Hermione's displeasure, decided to ask Hagrid about Sirius Black. John really didn't care to join, so he just mulled around reading, or thinking about everything that didn't make sense.

When he meant by this though, was that dream he had on keeping clara safe. John had tried so hard to keep Clara from trouble, but everything he did just made things worse. Though, if it had been John under the same situation, he probably wouldn't have told anybody either. Both of their stubbornness was going to cost them. A part of him wondered whether he would've gotten somewhere had he not interfered in that manner. But, john firmly believed that what he did was right.

Sighing, John found himself staring into the blank of space, wondering about all the strange things he had seen in his head. Apparently, that was a bad idea.

 _With great annoyance, John found himself sprawled on the ground in a forest. He quickly noticed the blue box towering over him. Two men, one John had seen before, seemed to be having a forced conversation. John slowly crept over to hear better._

 _A man in a green suit, and bow in hand asked, "_ So, is it true, Doctor?"

 _The man who had to be this 'Doctor' asked, "Is what true?"_

" _That in the future I am forgotten as a real man. I am but a legend."_

 _The Doctor winced. "I'm afraid it is"._

 _The man in the green suit paused for a second. "Hmm… Good. History is a burden. Stories can make us fly."_

" _I'm still having a little trouble believing yours, I'm afraid."_

 _The green-suited man laughed. "Is it so hard to credit? That a man born into wealth and privilege should find the plight of the oppressed and weak too much to bear… until one night he is moved to steal a TARDIS? Fly among the stars, fighting the good fight? Clara told me your stories."_

 _At the name of Clara John winced. Surely this wasn't about_ his _Clara. No, this was just a coincidence. Of course, John had convinced himself that there was no such thing as coincidences._

 _The Doctor scowled. "She should not have told you any of that."_

 _The other man chuckled. "Well, once the story started, she could hardly stop herself. You are her hero, I think."_

" _I'm not a hero," the Doctor said, scoffing._

 _Well neither am I. But if we both keep pretending to be — ha ha — perhaps others will be heroes in our name. Perhaps we will both be stories. And may those stories never end. [they shake hands] Goodbye, Doctor, Time Lord of Gallifrey."_

 _At that moment, John felt an incredible weight suddenly bestowed on his chest. He felt like he couldn't breathe… Gallifrey. Where had he heard that before? And Time Lord… There was just too much information to process._

" _Goodbye, Robin Hood, Earl of Loxley," the Doctor sighed._

 _Robin hood? What? He wasn't, he_ couldn't _be real!_

" _And remember, Doctor… I'm just as real as you are."_

John heaved a breath. He was lying on the couch, and he knew he had fallen asleep. But it was funny, John never seemed to sleep anymore. He would sort of take cat-naps whenever he got bored, and they would only last minutes. Strange, because John had never given much thought to that fact.

It was like john was missing something incredibly obvious. There was something screaming to get attention, but he was so confused. But now, John knew what that blue box was called. Fake Robin Hood, (John refused to believe that he was real) had mentioned something about a stolen TARDIS. There was a gut feeling that whatever a TARDIS was, was going be very important.

John jumped out of the couch, and ran to the library. He now knew what he was looking for.

Desperately, he asked Madam Pince, "Do you anything about something called a TARDIS?"

Madam Pince frowned. "Excuse me? I haven't heard of anything-"

John "Oh, well if you could search it up on Google that would be great. I think you spell it as 'T-A-R-"

"It is winter break, please take advantage of it and stop asking me such nonsense!" And with that, John was booted out of the library. Fantastic. Though, John did wonder what this 'Google' thing was that he mentioned.

Heaving a sigh, John trudged back to the common room, defeated.

* * *

The next day, John found himself extra grumpy. Perhaps it was all the drama that occurred yesterday, or the "vision" he had seen. Honestly, he needed to stop having those. They were giving John headaches.

Plus, Christmas was rolling around, and the school was a red-gold mess. It was actually kind of funny to see the school dressed in Gryffindor colors. It brought a grimace to John's face. Besides the happy spirits, Clara had still not apologized to John. But, why not? He hadn't done anything wrong, he had simply tried to help her!

To put even more of a damper on John's mood, the Idiotic Trio was fussing about Hagrid and Buckbeak. Apparently, Hagrid's hippogriff, Buckbeak was probably going to be executed.

When John walked in on the three reading a heap of books on animal trials and such, he scoffed.

"Do you really think that this is going to work?" John asked incredulously. "The animal assaulted a student!"

Hermione glared at him. "It's a matter of animal rights. Hagrid _taught_ Malfoy how to get Buckbeak's respect, and instead the prat got himself injured."

"I just don't think that that some petty little research with these books will suffice," John clarified.

Hermione was seething. "You have a problem with books?"

John frowned. "No, I don't. Books are the greatest weapons out there, and they really help when fighting werewolves!"

Hermione gave a nervous glance. "You too?"

John quirked an eyebrow in confusion, earning him an eye-roll.

* * *

And so, on Christmas Day, John found himself eating at lunch in the Great Hall by himself. Clara and Ginny were laughing together, and the Three Idiots were arguing amongst themselves. Jinn was even able to hear some of the professors speaking.

Professor Trelawney had waltzed into the Great Hall, in a blinding, sequin infested, dress. John gagged at its sight. The professor was swiftly invited to sit down by Dumbledore.

"Let me draw you up a chair-" Dumbledore offered.

To this, Trelawney shrieked. "I dare not, Headmaster! If I join the table, we shall be thirteen! Nothing could be more unlucky! Never forget that when thirteen dine together, the first to rise will be the first to die!"

From far down the table, john heard Clara choke. Ginger began furiously pounding in her back, and when Clara was alright, she gave a thumbs-up.

They had a sort of conversation, where all of a sudden, Clara's face contorted into something ghastly, like crying with makeup on.

For some reason, her voice seemed to just carry over to John's ears. Or maybe, he just read her lips in her voice.

"Every Christmas, is last Christmas."


	17. Open Up

*** Hello! sorry for not posting earlier. Literally was held back because I wasn't able to get new keyboard batteries. Anyway, it's finally summer time here in Canada, or at least where I am. It's like, 80f. I don't do Celsius, (lived in the States for pretty much my whole life) but it's about 25c. On that final note, JUNE!**

* * *

There was always something _wrong,_ Clara realized. She would sometimes look out and sigh with sadness, as if things just weren't right. And yet, everything was so familiar. It was like, she knew all there was to know about the wizarding world, but it was just suppressed. Clara had no idea how right she was.

Clara still hadn't said anything to John. Why would she? Clara already knew that she wasn't going to tell him, but John hadn't made a single attempt to talk, or even just _look_ at her. But, there was that one day one Christmas. John had very briefly met her eyes, while Clara had been reciting a poem to Ginny. At the last verse though, John seemed to have perked up.

It was kind of like that moment when Professor Trelawney mentioned the thirteen at the dinner… It gave Clara chills because there was something calling out to her, telling her not to ignore it all. But Clara didn't _want_ to solve the whole mystery surrounding her and the school. Honestly, she would rather have a normal life, led in the dark.

But, that wasn't living now, was it?

It was mid-January by now, and Clara had basically been spending all her time with Ginny and Hermione. Though, Hermione was usually caught up in the library, looking just as awful as a ghost. Her eyes were red, and bags surrounded them. Her lips were chapped, and there were little droplets of blood spilling out where Hermione had bit into. She was, to say the least, not looking well.

Clara didn't understand how Ron and Harry could be so oblivious. They were angry at her alright, for snitching about the Firebolt. But, Hermione was just being cautious. Though, Clara knew that she secretly agreed with the boys. She wasn't as much of a rule follower as Hermione was.

One day, while Harry was walking out to meet with professor Lupin, or something, Clara pulled him aside.

"Hey…," he said uncomfortably. Though, it wasn't like Clara was all thrills. She was suppressing all emotion for the ridiculous boy at this moment.

Clara drew a sharp breath. "Does Hermione seem alright to you?"

Harry gave an awkward look. "Hermione? Well, she's been studying more, and she's angry at us, but that's it, really."

Clara winced. "Are you sure? Because I've been thinking of literally dragging her out of the library and into the hospital wing. She looks sick. Have you actually seen here for that last week?"

Harry scratched his head. "No… But, Hermione isn't daft. She'll know when to go to the hospital wing, and everything will be alright."

"That's just it! She's pale, and barely talking! It's not healthy… She's seriously stressed, and you guys are her best mates. Do something."

Harry shook his head. "God, no. She's already angry with us!"

"You have every right to be angry, Harry. But, make sure that she's not killing herself, OK?"

Harry sighed. "Ok." He then gave a curious glance. "Why aren't you doing it?"

Clara grimaced. "You guys know here better. You've been friends longer."

Harry nodded. "Well, then maybe you should talk to John."

Clara snorted. She looked at Harry expectantly. "Don't you have a class to go to…?"

Harry seemed to be in a daze, and he literally shook himself out of it. "Yeah… Better run."

Hours later, Clara had been working on some transfiguration assignments. She was sitting my the fire in the common room, as the January weather was horrendous.

Harry came in slowly, as if trying to sneak his way into the classroom. Clara wouldn't have any of that.

"You look tired," Clara noted.

Harry merely nodded, and fumbled with his pockets. He seemed highly uncomfortable.

"So, how was is it?" Clara asked. "What did you do?"

Harry bit his lip. "It was OK. You know, just revising some stuff…"

Clara knew a liar when she saw one. "Ok… So what did you do _really_?"

Harry looked taken aback. "N-nothing. I just wasn't doing well with some of the stuff we were covering…"

Clara smiled at him, and offered him a seat. He took it with hesitance. "Your eyes," Clara started, "They're so much sadder. I think you saw something… something that hurt. Because– I can see the pain, it's written all over your face."

Harry gulped. "You're very, ah _perceptive._ "

"Yes, indeed I am. So are you going to tell me or not?"

Harry crinkled his brow. "Sure, if you tell me what you've been hiding."

 _Damn._ Clara really should've been more clear. "No," Clara said forcefully. "I won't tell you. And you don't necessarily have to tell me. But, if it makes you feel better, I told Ginny."

Harry's eyes widened a bit. "Have you told John?"

Clara was surprised by the question. "No. Why would I tell him?" She made sure to insert just a little bit of the anger into her words. Harry certainly noticed it.

"Do you… Do you hate him?"

Clara sighed. "Well, I'm not really sure. He's just making it really easy for me to hate him right now."

Harry seemed perplexed. "Well, ok. It's just, if you want me to tell you about the class, you'll just get bored." Harry was obviously lying.

Clara chuckled slowly. "Harry, the more you fight the urge to tell, the worse it gets. We all know that you aren't having trouble with Defense. Professor Lupin has just taken a liking to you, and helping you out with your Dementors issue."

Harry spluttered. "How did you-"

Clara tapped her nose. "Very perceptive, remember?"

Harry practically jumped out of his seat. "Listen, it about ten o'clock… I'd better get to bed…" He gave a nervous glance. "Don't you have the same problem as me, though."

Clara smiled shyly. "Yeah, but as I said, Professor Lupin has taken a liking to you, Harry."

"I could ask-"

"No, please no. It's not that much of a problem. I can manage."

Harry nodded, and with a slight smile, ran to the boys dormitories.

Clara gulped, as she knew that Harry was just feather-brained. Had Ginny or Hermione asked the same thing, they might've seen straight through her lie. Or, maybe just Ginny. Clara he perfected the art of the lie, but it fell flat when it came to Ginny.

The truth was, Clara _wanted_ the help. Very much actually, but something urged her to lie. Many of her decisions nowadays were determined like that. It was like something was urging her down a certain path.


	18. Some Wednesday

*** Chapter 18, here we go! Also, I just wanted to say, that without all the AN's, this story is about 21 000 words long!**

* * *

John had finally pieced everything together. One, he, Ron, and Harry would sneak into the hospital wing tomorrow night. Two, Ron would stand guard. Three, Harry and John would look around Pomfrey's office, looking for Clara's record.

It came to John that this was the first time he had done anything, really. All his homework lay piled in a messy heap, forgotten. Perhaps John's should've dropped those classes. But, who cared? Homework was boring. _Very_ boring. Really, John only kept up with astronomy classes, as it was much more fun standing in the cold night, at 12:00 AM, looking at stars that had quite possibly already burned out, but their light was only just reaching them. Yep, definitely more interesting that Goblin wars.

John was breaking about a dozen school rules, but he had never been one for rules, had he? Though, sometimes john did wonder to what lengths John would go to ensure Clara's safety… It was almost an unspoken obligation…

John was snapped out of his thoughts, when the door burst open. Harry was standing there, looking hellishly, and very tired.

"We need to call it off," he panted.

"Call what off?" John said, oblivious to it all.

Harry sighed, and gestured to John's scribbled writing on parchment. "The plan to find out what Clara was hiding… She already told someone…"

"Yeah, who?"

"Ginny."

John scoffed. "Ginger? Rule One: Never trust a red-head. They're useful in only one scenario: None."

Harry gave a puzzled look. "Isn't she your friend?"

"Just because she's my friend doesn't mean I don't dislike her hair."

"What?"

"Double negative."

"OK… Back to the point. Clara really does seem to be better now. If she was willing to tell someone… Has it occurred to you that maybe she just doesn't want to tell you?"

John rolled his eyes. "Now, why wouldn't she want to tell me?"

Harry grimaced. "The same reason she won't tell any of us, we tried to force it out of her."

"But-"

"No," Harry continued. "I think that whatever we do, it'll make Clara actually hate you."

" _Actually_ hate me?"

Harry shifted uncomfortably. "Clara is really angry with you right now… She's really conflicted as to whether or not she hates you."

"She's always like that," John said.

"This is different. She might truly come to hate you. You… we, actually, betrayed her trust in a way. We forced her into a corner, when she probably would've appreciate your, er _our_ help anyway."

John fiddled with the hem of his shirt. _Like Amelia Pond._ John wrinkled his nose at his thought, because those were the last things he needed. _Apalapachia._ No. This had to stop…

"I'll do it myself then. Probably best, you'll just get in the way."

Harry sighed dramatically. "You really shouldn't! You're being stupid here, John. Just, let it go!"

John snickered. Harry gave him a cold stare.

"Can't you just accept the fact that we were wrong? Ron only went along with it, because that's what he does. You, _you_ are so bent on supposedly helping Clara, you haven't realized that Clara is completely fine!"

John blinked. "So you finally accepted Ron's role as a friend. Good job!"

"Did you seriously just ignore me?"

"Well, I heard it, then my head was like, 'boring!' and I forgot it. Sorry, you were saying what now?"

"I'm seriously losing my patience here."

John clasped his hands together. "I am too! There are just some things that are too long! _Les Miserables_ for starters…"

"Wait- You tried reading that thing?"

John scoffed. "I read the book in seconds. The film, I mean." John shuddered.

"We're really losing track here."

"No kidding. So plan: I sneak into the hospital wing my myself-"

"No!"

"Wait, we have another plan then? Mind you, I'm surprised you came up with one. Good for you, taking one for the team!"

Harry growled with frustration. "Sometimes I really don't know whether you're serious, or just trying to be funny."

"Both?"

Harry gave a hard look to John. It didn't work. Harry just didn't have the eyebrows for it.

"I'm going to say it one last time! You shouldn't go poking around where your head doesn't belong! Just, give it up!" Harry stormed out of the room, seething.

John frowned. He really didn't care what Harry had to say, so he got up from his bed and paced around the room. Glaring at the ground, John decided he would do it.

" _Don't do it,"_ a female's voice whispered. John instantly whipped out his wand.

"Who's there? Harry, this is a pretty awful method to convince me, just saying!"

" _Not yet,"_ the voice continued. It seemed to be coming from all over. As in, there was no actual direction in which the voice was coming from. " _It's too soon,_ John Smith." The voice cackled, as John's name amused her-it.

" _You'll find out about Clara… Don't worry. Your promise to yourself will still stand."_

John stood there awkwardly for a few minutes. His head was still processing what had just occurred. Then, with great hesitance, John decided to call his plan off.

* * *

Classes continued for everyone else, except John. He seemed to be failing on all of his assignments, and his one potions quiz. Professor Snape gave him a look of disappointment, which were actually starting to become much more frequent. John could now tell why everyone despised their potions professor so much.

On top of it all, Hermione had seemed to be quite right. John got rid of the hourglass tool he had been using for half the year, and dropped some of the courses. Muggle Studies and Divination. John knew enough about Muggles, and Divination class was quite useless. Professor Trelawney had frowned and wrinkled her nose when John had told her it was his last day.

"Evidently I was incorrect about you." she rasped. "You do lack the Sight. However, I foresee-"

"Don't know, don't care," John snapped back.

Hermione still glared at John, but it was a weird look. It was as if to say, _I'm smarter. I was able to do_ all _the courses._ Of course, Hermione was killing herself in the process. John wasn't _that_ blind.

One day, John had been thinking about how to escape a black hole, (the answer was simple) when he heard a crowd of noise coming from downstairs in the common room. Sighing, he lifted himself out bed and made sure that he had his killer eyebrows on. They were the most important part to the criticizing ensemble.

At that moment, Ron burst through the door. A smile was literally etched on his face forever. He was holding something that looked suspiciously like Harry's confiscated Firebolt…

"Hiya," Ron said breathlessly. He tucked the broom under Harry's bed. _Real_ secure.

"Is that-"

"Yeah," said Ron, still smiling. "It's a Firebolt! An actual, actual, actual Firebolt!" In two seconds, his smile faded. John didn't understand how he changed emotions so quickly. "W-what's that?" Ron pointed to his bed.

John turned to face a bed which sheets were covered in blood. John had his curtains closed the whole time while on his bed, which was apparently a bad idea. He didn't even notice what had occurred.

"What?" said Ron, still in a daze. "Sc-SCABBERS!" Ron quickly grabbed the red stained sheets, and was about to fly out the door when-

"Look," John said. "On the ground. Those look like-"

"Crookshank's fur," Ron finished, his voice squeaking. Then, his face went all red and John though that he was transfiguring himself into a balloon. John hastily grabbed the furs, and thrust them in his pocket.

"I'm going to kill that ruddy thing…" John followed Ron as he bolted down the stairs.

"LOOK! LOOK!"

"Ron, what?" Hermione asked.

"SCABBERS! LOOK! SCABBERS!"

The rest of the people downstairs glanced at the bloody sheet. They're eyes widened.

"BLOOD! HE'S GONE! AND YOU KNOW WHAT WAS ON THE FLOOR?" Ron gestured for John to bring out the spiky, ginger, cat fur.

Hermione looked appalled. "You seriously don't think that-"

"THEN WHO ELSE DID IT?"

"Ron, stop yelling!" Hermione scolded firmly, but her voice was squeaky. "Please," she added silently.

"NO!" SCABBERS IS _DEAD_ BECAUSE YOUR BLOODY CAT _ATE_ HIM!"

"Show me some proof, then."

John waved his hands, then pointed at the fur in his hands.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Oh, of course _you_ would side with him! Those could've been there since Christmas!"

"I'm not siding with anyone," John said defensively. John studied Hermione for a second. "Also, your eyes are very red you have dark bags under them? Are you sick?"

"Quit trying to change the subject!" Hermione shrieked. "I'm not sick, I'm fine. I don't know where Scabbers is, but Crookshanks definitely did not eat him!" Hermione stormed off with clenched hands.

Beside John, Ron panted. His face was all blotchy.

"You could do with some makeup," John suggested. This earned him a hard glare from Ron. John thouht of Hermione's discoloured face as well. "Everyone here could to with some makeup," he muttered.


	19. I Might Change My Mind

*** It's so pretty outside! Ther's a rainbow... and yeah... Anyway, this is longer than most of my chapters, so enjoy!**

* * *

Clara moaned into her pillow. She could practically hear the discreet smile on Ginny's face. Snapping her head up from the cushion, she scowled. "Shut up."

Ginny played with her flaming hair. "But it's so funny watching you! You're like a little doll… Mind you, you're small enough for it to make sense."

"I thought I said shut up!"

Ginny bounced on her bed. "But, you're like, 5 foot! That's so short!"

"Thanks for making me feel great, _Ginevra_."

Ginny narrowed her eyes. "Fine, I'll stop. But, you really need to stop burying your face in that pillow. People might think you're weird."

Clara sighed. "It's not my fault! I'm super stressed. First, I have to think of a way to deal with John. Then, I have to help Hermione! She's locked herself in the library, and she's obviously sick."

Ginny nodded along. "Well, I have a solution. A, you put your stubbornness aside and tell John. B, you personally ask Hermione what's up."

"I can't just ask her _what's up_!"

"Yes, yes you can."

"And I'm not stubborn!"

Ginny chuckled to herself. "Sure you're not. Well, we'd better get to sleep. I don't want to miss the Quidditch match tomorrow."

Clara nodded. Tomorrow was the Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw game, and they had to win. Though, with Harry having his Firebolt, it wasn't going to be difficult.

* * *

The next morning, Clara and Ginny went down to the Great Hall. They had asked Hermione to join them, but she kind of just glared at her book harder, and said 'no.'

The Great Hall was bustling. Students from all different houses crowded around Harry, who had laid his Firebolt on the table. Penelope Clearwater, Percy's girlfriend, was studying the broom with awe. Then her face lit up, as she seemed to have been given permission to hold it.

Clara and Ginny sat down a few feet away from Harry, as there were just so many people around him.

Penelope thanked Harry, and bounded off. Percy whispered something in Harry's ear, to which Harry chuckled to silently. Then, Percy ran off to join his girlfriend.

"I wonder why she's going out with Percy anyway," Ginny muttered.

Clara laughed. "It's not going to last long, I can tell you that."

"They've been dating for a year now!" Ginny exclaimed.

"Ah, correction. They're not going to be dating for much _longer._ "

"I bloody hope so."

Clara smirked. "Language!"

"Oh, please. I've heard worse from you. Remember when you forgot your charms homework-" her voice faltered, and her face contorted into one of disgust.

Clara soon realized why. Malfoy, was standing right behind Harry, taunting him.

"Sure you can manage a broom, Potter?" An evil glint seem to refract from his eye. "Got plenty of special features, hasn't it? Shame it doesn't come with a parachute, in case you come too near a Dementor."

"Pity you can't attach an extra arm to yours, Malfoy. Then it could catch the snitch for you," Harry retorted.

The Gryffindor table howled with laughter. Even Clara broke into a grin, but it didn't last long. Her eye caught Malfoy's. Clara gave a death stare that said, _don't you dare._

His face, however, seemed to light up maliciousness. He smiled devilishly and said, "Next time you visit Heaven, tell me. Wouldn't mind a trip there myself, since I'm stuck in this hell hole." Then, he swaggered off, his cronies following him.

The Gryffindor table went silent, and Clara felt a lump forming in her throat.

"Let's go," Ginny suggested. Clara nodded, and she slowly got out of her seat and walked back to the common room.

At 10:30, Ginny and Clara decided to go to the match. They stumbled around, trying to find good seats. For fifteen minutes, nothing happened. Then, the teams came out. Clara noticed the blue and silver outfits from the other team.

Everybody was clapping, eager to have the match start so that they could see the Firebolt in action.

Clara noticed that there was only one girl on the Ravenclaw team, Cho Chang. Clara didn't really know her, as she was two years older than she was, but she seemed nice enough. Plus, she was short, and that was something that Clara could relate to.

The team captains shook hands, and then, Harry kicked off the ground. Clara could see that Harry was able to get the most altitude in the least amount of time. Then, the whistle blew and the game began.

Clara payed close attention to what was happening. Harry was leaning on his broom, trying to catch a glimpse of the snitch.

"- the Firebolt, incidentally, has a built-in auto-brake and-"

"Jordan!" McGonagall's voice boomed.

Clara and Ginny couldn't help but look at each other and laugh. It seemed that the commentator, Lee Jordan, was an advertiser.

Clara went back to watching the game. Harry was flying about, and he had just passed Katie Bell from the Gryffindor team. But, not far behind, was Cho chang tailing him. She was surprisingly good at flying too. Clara admired her skill, as she was flying an old broom with excellence. It even forced Harry to swerve a couple times too. Of course, Clara couldn't help but appreciate the fact that she was the only girl on the team.

Katie Bell succeeded in getting a goal, and all of Gryffindor applauded. Clara was smiling and clapping along as well.

Harry was flying low to the ground, and he was obviously chasing after the invisible snitch. Clara shrieked when a bludger nearly missed him. Gryffindors sighed when harry lost sight of the snitch.

Lee Jordan kept on advertising, and professor McGonagall kept on scowling and yelling at him. It was quite funny.

Harry dropped a bit lower, and immediately started accelerating. Everybody held their breath. Out of nowhere however, Cho appeared and blocked him.

Wood was having a fit, and although Clara couldn't necessarily hear him, she knew what he was saying. Harry, the poor gentleman was too kind to knock the girl off her broomstick.

Harry sped up, and Cho began tailing him again. Clara knew that she was using Harry to find the snitch.

Harry dived again, and Cho followed. But in a dramatic twist, he veered out of the dive sharply. Cho however, kept flying downward. Clara smiled at the trick.

Harry was then flying toward the Ravenclaw end. Cho was lower in altitude, but was also heading in the same direction as well. It was obvious that the snitch had been spotted.

A gasp went throughout the crowd. Below Harry, were three cloaked figures that sort of looked like Dementors, but clara didn't get the same feeling from them… Plus, the way that they moved… Clara caught a glimpse of a pale hand from under the black cloak.

"Oh, that bastard," Clara muttered. It didn't take a genius to figure out that the person under the cloak was none other than Draco Malfoy. He must've been accompanied by his 'friends' as well.

Clara felt her heart speed up though, when she realized that Harry probably didn't know what was going on. But then, something… something beautiful happened.

A silvery blast erupted from Harry's wand. It bounded around Malfoy and the others so that they tumbled down from the air.

In all the excitement, Clara didn't realize that Harry had caught the snitch. She stood up though, and clapped for her friend when she did, though.

Clara and Ginny sprinted out onto the field to congratulate Harry. Harry seemed to be engrossed in an army of hugs, pecks, and other congrats from all Gryffindors too.

Clara ran up to him, and hugged him tightly. "That was bloody amazing!"

"Thanks," said Harry, red from at the attention.

Professor Lupin came from behind Harry, and said something in his ear. Harry smiled brightly.

"The dementors didn't affect me at all! I didn't feel a thing!"

"That would be because that er, weren't dementors," said professor Lupin. "Come and see."

Clara didn't want to miss this, so she fought her way through the crowd to see Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, and Flint (Slytherin team Captain) all struggling from underneath their long, black capes.

McGonagall seemed to be seriously going at it, and Clara smiled again. It was quite amusing to see her professor lose her temper like this.

Clara couldn't suppress her laughter when Malfoy and Goyle weren't able to get themselves out of the robes.

From behind her, Ginny tugged on her arm. There was an evident smile on her face. "There's going to be a party, let's go!" she squealed. Clara smiled.

* * *

The whole common room was packed. Everybody was laughing, smiling, talking eating- except Hermione who was sitting by herself in a corner. Clara slowly made her way toward her, with a cup of pumpkin juice in hand. But, Harry got to her first.

"Did you even come to the match," he asked. Clara strode in beside him.

"Of course I didn't," Hermione said. She didn't look up from the book she was reading. Clara could tell that Hermione was thoroughly upset. "I'm very glad we won, but I need this read my Monday," she continued flatly.

"Come one Hermione, have some food," Harry pleaded.

Clara knelt down beside her friend. "Hermione, we all know that with this noise you're never going to be able to read. Just, give it a rest and have fun!"

"I can't have fun when… he's in my general presence." Her eyes wandered to where Ron was standing.

Of course, that was the moment Ron decided to join in the conversation. "If Scabbers hadn't been eaten, he could've had some of those Fudge Flies… He really did like them too…"

Hermione burst into tears. She ran to the girls' dormitories, sobbing.

Clara glared at Ron. "Can't you give it a damn rest?"

"No. If she just acted like she was sorry… But she'll never admit she's wrong."

Clara had the urge to slap him good. "Merlin, you don't understand don't you? She probably does know that her cat ate Scabbers, you're just being a royal ass and keep pressing that on her. She feels bloody awful. Had you been just a good enough friend to realize that-" Clara stopped to breathe.

The two boys gaped at her.

" _Royal ass_?"

"Shut the bloody hell up, and go away before a bloody smack you where it bloody hurts!"

Ron scampered away.

Harry opened his mouth to speak then closed it. "You'd better be glad McGonagall wasn't here to hear you say that."

Clara panted. "Believe me, I've said worse in front of her."

"Most second years don't swear as much as you do."

"Please, I'm only a second year because I was born two months after September. I'm literally only like, five months younger than you."

"Right," Harry wrinkled his nose at the sight of the party. "It's a bit much, isn't it?"

Clara smiled. "There's no alcohol, so be glad. Actually, knowing the twins I wouldn't be surprised if the pumpkin juice bowl was suddenly spiked."

"Well, I'll be avoiding all drinks tonight. I won't leave my cup anywhere either."

Clara smiled. "Yeah… I'd better not either. That's basically the first rule girls learn: Never leave your cup out for a second."

* * *

The party ended at one in the morning with professor McGonagall storming into the room in her tartan nightgown. Clara had ducked away from sight, eager to not get in trouble. Thankfully, nobody did.

Clara crept up the stairs, and quickly changed into her night attire. Ginny was still brushing her teeth, so Clara lay down and closed her eyes. She found herself drifting off to sleep…

 _With a lurch, Clara found herself to be watching from the eyes of that woman again. Always the same woman. It was like, they were the same person._

 _Clara's mouth opened to speak. "Since when do you care about the Doctor?" Chills went down her spine when the deeper voice than Clara's spoke. But what was even more unnerving was the fact that Clara's own voice was starting to sound like hers._

 _The other Victorian-dressed woman smiled. "Since always. Since the Cloister Wars. Since the night he stole the moon and the President's wife. Since he was a little girl. One of those was a lie, can you guess which one?"_

" _He's not your friend. You keep trying to kill him." Another shiver._

" _He keeps trying to kill me. Sort of our texting. Been at it for ages."_ Texting? _What was that?_

" _Mmm, must be love." Clara winced at the word._

 _The woman looked appalled. "Oh, don't be disgusting. We're Time Lords, not animals. Try, Nano-brain, to rise above the reproductive frenzy of your noisy little food chain and contemplate friendship. Friendship older than your civilization, and infinitely more complex."_

 _The scene dissolved._

Clara was still sleeping until she heard-

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGH! NOOOOOOOOOO!"

Clara fell out of bed. Ginny also seemed to have been woken up. With new energy, Clara sprinted out the girls' dormitories. It just seemed like something the other woman would do…

Clara skidded to a halt. Partly because of what she had just thought, partly because of John, who was standing looking very angry. His eyebrows were more killer than ever. It hit clara, that she hadn't thought much about John recently.

Ginny was behind Clara. And she was mumbling words if tire, but she also seemed to be very intrigued.

"Everyone, back upstairs!" Percy yelled. He pinned his Head Boy badge as he spoke.

"Perc- Sirius Black!" Ron said faintly. "In our dormitory! With a knife! Woke me up!"

"He's finally lost it," Clara heard Ginny say.

"Nonsense!" Percy began arguing with Ron.

The portrait door slammed from behind Clara. Everybody jumped.

"I am delighted that Gryffindor won the match, but this is getting ridiculous! Percy, I expected better of you!"

Percy stuttered at started to argue back. "Ron was having a nightmare-"

"IT WASN'T A NIGHTMARE!" Ron shouted. "PROFESSOR, I WOKE UP, AND SIRIUS BLACK WAS STANDING OVER ME, HOLDING A KNIFE!"

"Don't be ridiculous. How could he have gotten through the portrait hole?"

Ron pointed a shaky figure at the back of the painting. "Ask him, ask him if he saw-"

Huffing, Mcgonagall strode over to face Sir Cadogan, who was standing up proud. He was always talking about how good he was at his new job.

"Sir Cadogan, did you let a man into the tower?"

"Certainly, good lady!"

"You- you _did_? But, but the password!"

"He had 'em! Had the whole week's, my lady. Read 'em off a little paper!"

McGonagall walked back to the crowd, pale. "Which person, which abysmally foolish person wrote down this week's password and left them lying around?"

Silence. Followed by silent gasps when Neville Longbottom raised his hand.

"Well, _bollocks_ ," Clara muttered.


	20. Pudding Brains

*** Chapter 20! And we're at 28,132 words of fanfiction without my AN's. We're going to come to an end soon... In the coming weeks. Don't worry though. Anyway, enjoy** **numéro vingt! N** **úmero veinte, zahl zwanzig!  
**

* * *

It was a miserable six days. John was definitely not having fun, or anything. He was glad though, that he didn't have to deal with all the trouble of Divination. Hermione seemed to be having a rough time, and exams were coming up…

A day before, Harry had caught by Snape with some stuff from Zonko's, and well… Harry didn't really want to talk about it. John muttered to himself as he walked to Care of Magical Creatures, which by the way, was not going well for him. John had expected Hagrid to cancel class today since the news of Buckbeak came out. He thought Hagrid was going to lock himself up and cry.

He was only _partly_ wrong.

They didn't really do anything, so John sat on a rock and stared out into the forest. John had a killer headache, and he rubbed his temples slowly so that he was able to think. It wasn't really working, and John was feeling a bit dizzy. A slow, female laugh entered his mind. It was more of a cackle, really.

"And here we see the fluffy, pink, warm Gryffindor in it's natural habitat!" a voice drawled from behind him. "That'll be a true Care of Magical Creatures class!"

John wrinkled his nose. "I'm not pink, fluffy, or warm. And, I'm only a Gryffindor because I wanted to be."

Draco Malfoy laughed. "Was the hat going to sort you in Hufflepuff? No wonder you made your decision!"

John exhaled sharply. "First, I really don't care about what you think. Second, go away before I hex something off you."

"Oh, but it's so entertaining watching you squirm in those things you call robes. Honestly, are you as poor as the Weasleys? I didn't think it was possible!"

John snorted. He rolled his eyes and continued to ignore Malfoy. Because, it was true. John really didn't care what Malfoy had to say.

Malfoy was getting tired. "Are you just going to sit there like an idiot?"

John smiled triumphantly. "I win. You talked to me first." And with that, John walked away. He was surprised though, that no cuss word escaped his mouth. One day though, he was going to burst and probably get detention.

John walked back to where Hagrid was "teaching". Hagrid was still blubbering over the mammal chicken thing, and John really wanted to do _something_. Care of Magical Creatures actually wasn't a bad class. He enjoyed learning about new animals, it gave John a certain thrill.

After class though, John was straying a few feet behind Ron, Hermione and Harry, as they walked back to the castle. John sighed, as he saw Malfoy leaning against a column in the castle.

There was a distinct sort of sob coming from Hagrid, who was actually right next to Hermione.

"An' then Lucius Malfoy stood up an' said his bit, and the Committee jus' did exac'ly what he told 'em..."

John winced on the inside. Hagrid was such a large, scary man. Though, maybe his size contributed to the amount of tears he produced.

After reaching the castle, Hagrid blew into his handkerchief loudly. _Mountain-Man bogies…_ John shuddered at the thought.

"Look at him blubber!" Malfoy taunted. John did his best to just stay out of the whole situation. He lingered a few feet away.

"Have you ever seen anything so pathetic? And he's supposed to be our teacher!" John flinched, because a part of him actually agreed with Malfoy. But whatever that part was, he was going to burn it off.

Harry and Ron lunged forward, with their fists clenched. But then, something truly wonderful occurred. Hermione got there first.

"Don't you dare call Hagrid pathetic, you foul - you evil -"

"Hermione!" Both Harry and Ron cried. Hermione pulled her arm back for another blow and Ron had to grab it back.

"Get off Ron!" Hermione furiously pulled out her wand.

Malfoy stepped back immediately. "C'mon," he called to his cronies. John took it as his chance to enter into the scenario.

"Good job," John said, clapping. "Would've done it myself, except, no violence rule thing I've got."

"What?" Hermione panted.

"Nevermind!" Ron said. "We're due in charms"!

"Literally the first time Ron has tried to get Hermione into class," John said.

Harry chuckled from behind him. Hermione glared daggers.

As John walked to class, a little ahead of the other three, John couldn't help but feel like he lied. John never explicitly condemned violence… But, there was always the fact that he enjoyed watching the got being hurt, physically at that. John felt a lump form in his throat at his realization.

John sauntered into the class, and sat down. He laid out his things, and faintly noticed the fact that Hermione had not turned up. John didn't really care, though he was pretty sure he knew why.

They were studying Cheering Charms. Ron joked that John could've used a large dose of that, until Flitwick gently reminded him that this was done with a wand, not a cauldron.

John didn't really pay attention, as Cheering Charms were elementary. Well, technically he was failing Charm, but did John really care? No. He was 100% sure that he was the smartest person in all of Hogwarts.

John entered the Gryffindor common room after class, and because he dropped Divination class, he thankfully didn't have anything for the rest of the day.

Hermione was collapsed onto her Arithmancy book. Her hair flew all around, and it stuck up in odd places. The wild hair reminded John of someone… A blurry face popped up in John's thought, but he discarded it immediately.

Ron and Harry walked in moments after, and caught glance of Hermione. They poked her shoulders, trying to wake her up.

""Wh - what?"Hermione stood up, startled. Her eyes had major bags under them. "Is it time to go? W - which lesson have we got now?"

"Divination, but it's not for another twenty minutes," Harry replied. "Why didn't you come to Charms?"

John was pretty sure that the one thing that could make Hermione cuss was missing class, but she got herself under control. "What? No! I-I didn't! No! I forgot to go to Charms!" She seemed truly distraught.

"How could you forget? You right outside the classroom-"

"Oh! It was Malfoy! He distracted me!" Hermione waved her hands angrily, like she was punching an invisible Malfoy.

"You've been doing too much," Ron noted. "All this arithmancy is cracking you up."

"No, I'm not!" said Hermione, brushing her hair out of her eyes and staring hopelessly around for her bag. "I just made a mistake, that's all! I'd better go and see Professor Flitwick and say sorry ... I'll see you in Divination!"

Harry and Ron looked skeptical, but they backed away. Honestly, john would've too, if he hadn't noticed the little hourglass Hermione pulled out of her shirt.

"Whatever you're thinking of doing, don't," John warned.

Hermione looked up, surprised. "Wh-what did you think I was going to do?"

"I think that you were about to turn that little thing once, so that you could make it to class."

Hermione glared at the Time Turner. "But- I can't, I just can't fail!"

John actually felt a little bad for her. "Listen, it's just one class! Nothing that you need to use a silly little excuse for Time Travel for!"

"I'm sorry, I don't quite get-"

John sighed. "Missing Charms class isn't something that will ruin your report card."

"I missed a whole class! I didn't give any warning, or, or-"

John rolled his eyes. "Please, it was just one mistake! Do you seriously think that it will ruin your life?"

Hermione gave a strangled look. "I need to do it-"

"Hermione, right now I'm being kind. Put it away…"

"No," Hermione said stubbornly. She was about to turn it when-

"Hermione, you are literally going to shatter Time."

"I'm- what?"

John nearly died. "Did seriously nobody tell you? Listen, you can't change the future like that! If you go to your silly class, then Harry and Ron wouldn't have ever come here and asked you why you didn't go to class! Hence, you would have never actually used the Time Turner! Paradox!"

Hermione looked gobsmacked. "I'm sure that it's happened before!"

"I bet it has! Idiots never listen!"

"Time didn't shatter then," Hermione pointed.

"Are you going to take that chance now? Hermione, I'm almost 100% sure that what you're about to do is a Ministry offense."

Hermione seemed to literally shrink. "I-I didn't know that."

"I know you didn't know. That's why i'm stopping you."

Hermione looked on the verge of tears. "But I don't want to end up like you!"

"What?"

"You quit!" Hermione shrieked. "I-I can't just quit! I want to be the best! I _have_ to be the best!"

John cracked a faint smile. "Well then, Hermione Granger, don't quit then."

"I'm not sure I'll be able to take it," hermione admitted quietly.

John put a tentative hand on her shoulder. "If you're going to die of stupidity, don't. Don't kill yourself in the process of becoming the 'best'. Quit the things you dislike, continue with what you love."

Hermione stared at him for a bit, which made him really uncomfortable. She sniffed. "You know what, John? You should really be a motivational speaker." She grimaced, grabbed her bag, and left quietly.

John stared at the closing portrait hole. She really was something.


	21. Siege Mode

*** And I have Chapter 21 for you guys! I'm planning about 8-10 more chapters in this story...**

* * *

Easter was less than satisfactory. Or, at least Easter Break was. Clara received some homework, but her academics weren't the problem. It was everyone else's. Harry, Hermione, and Ron were all drowning in homework. Clara really _could_ wait until third year. Everywhere Clara went, students were studying, or complaining. Ginny wrinkled her nose whenever she saw the others.

"Sometimes I feel bad for my brother. Then I remember that I really don't care," Ginny joked.

Clara elbowed her playfully. "Well, I'm so bored I really do think that I'll die."

Ginny smiled mischievously. "What do you think we could do to cure our boredom?"

Clara sighed. "Well, we can't go outside... "

"Yeah, that's a shame," Ginny replied. "We could, you know.. Enlist some help from the twins…"

"My, my, Ginny! I do think they're a bad influence on you!"

"Probably."

Clara swept her hair into a ponytail. "What do you think we should do then?"

"I was thinking since the Quidditch Final is coming up, we could show some of our house… spirit…"

Clara sighed. "Oh, I thought we were going to blow up the school!"

Ginny shook her head. "Nope, Fred and George made me promise that I would leave that to them when they're in their last year."

"You're kidding."

Ginny smiled again. "Anyway… We could always try to sneak into the changing rooms-"

Clara feigned a look of sternness. "Ginny! What's going on in that naughty head of yours?"

"Clara, I wasn't the one who suggested anything naughty," Ginny defended. "Back to the point before you disrupted me..." Ginny glared at Clara, "We could sneak into the Slytherin change rooms and charm their uniforms into Gryffindor colours."

Clara narrowed her eyes. "Well, I would love to see that, but I have a feeling that this is just because you want to sneak into the changing rooms."

Ginny pouted. "Pwease? Pwetty Pwease?"

"We really shouldn't…"

"You were the one who suggested we have fun!"

Clara stomped her foot. "I didn't say that we should violate the Slytherin's Quidditch uniforms!"

"Not explicitly," Ginny sang.

"Ginny, I really don't think we should…"

Ginny scoffed. "Come on Clara! Where's your reckless side? You need to have more fun!" Ginny started for the Gryffindor common room.

"I just don't want my recklessness getting us in trouble!" Clara called after her. Clara shook her head and ran after her friend.

* * *

Classes started up again, and Clara really couldn't wait until the Quidditch match. First, she desperately wanted to beat the Slytherins. Second, she really wanted to see what Ginny had planned out. Clara, not wanting to get in too much trouble if caught, left most of the work to Ginny.

It was all the school talked about now, though. The Quidditch match had gotten Hogwarts into an irreversible high. Students were ecstatic, to say the least, about the game. Throughout the week of the game, students wore their preferred team's colours whenever they weren't in their school robes. Clara and Ginny shared secret glances between one another, and sometimes were hushed due to their giggling.

The night before the match though, everyone was especially excited. Hermione left the common room early in order to think. Clara bit her lip while Ginny ran through the plan with her.

"Will we actually see them though?"

Ginny flicked her hair. "Hopefully. But It's still satisfying to know that they will enter the change rooms to see-"

"Shut up!" Clara scolded.

After about five minutes though, the noise in the common room had raised drastically. Clara shook her head.

"I'm off to bed," she declared.

Ginny nodded. "I'll be there in twenty. I just wanna see if Fred's gonna-" Her voice was drowned out, and Clara made her way upstairs.

Clara brushed her teeth, and found, although still a bit early, that fatigue was taking over. While Clara brushed, her hand seemed to slow in speed, and the circle motion of the brush on her teeth seemed forced. Clara rinsed her mouth, groggily changed, and fell onto her bed.

 _That woman again… She stared at the old man angrily._

 _The old man seemed to notice the glare. He gestured toward the facial expression. "What's that look for?"_

 _The woman angrily huffed. "_ T _hat's the look you get when I'm about to slap you!" In one swift motion, the woman slapped the old man hard, across the face. "We're going to die in here. And there's a little bit of you that's pleased."_ 'The Daleks are evil, after all.' 'Everything makes sense.' 'The Doctor is right!'

 _Scoffing, the old man answered, "Daleks are evil. Irreversibly so. That's what we just learned."_

" _No, Doctor, that is not what we just learned!" The woman shot back._

 _The slap scene recurred, and a stinging feeling appeared on Clara's fingertips._

Clara woke up to the sunlight hitting her face. Sucking in a breath, Clara thanked the heavens that her dream wasn't as bad as some of the others. She quickly got ready, and she nudged Ginny on the shoulder to wake her up. She hated that Ginny had such an erratic sleep schedule.

"Mmph," Ginny mumbled into her pillow.

"Wake up," Clara said gently.

"Don't wanna…"

Clara poked her again. "Do you really want to miss today's game?"

"Kinda… yeah…"

"Ginny, wake up right now!"

Ginny groggily sat up, and rubbed her eyes. "Blimey, how much time have we got?"

Clara threw Ginny her Gryffindor tee. "A couple hours. You have everything set, right?"

Ginny nodded, while pulling the shirt over her head. However, once the shirt was on, Ginny sat on her bed like a lame duck.

"Ginny-" Clara warned.

Ginny rolled her eyes and stretched. "Yep, yep, yep… Be with you in a mome-" She yawned heavily.

"Do I have to pour ice water over you?" Clara threatened.

"You're a witch, Clara. You don't _need_ buckets."

"You can't smart-ass you're way out of this one."

"I can, and I have." Ginny plopped her face back down into her pillow.

"I'm starting to seriously think that you don't want to go to the game…"

"I'm tired."

"Why the bloody hell did you stay up so late?"

Ginny mumbled. "Fred, was showing me a-a-" she yawned again.

Clara threw her hands into the air. "OK, fine. I'm tired too, so I'll just stay here."

"Fine."

Of course, after ten minutes of lying in bed, thinking of Réne Descartes, Clara found herself being shaken by the shoulder.

"Clara!" Ginny exclaimed. "Get up, lazy!"

"There we go," Clara grumbled.

Clara, having already dressed. Was all ready. The pair walked down to breakfast together. Laughter filled the Great Hall, though it was mostly full of boys. Ginny smiled at Clara impishly. A couple Slytherins snickered in their direction, but Clara smiled brightly at them all the same. It was, though, full of a _we're going to beat you_ tone.

Clara and Ginny had arrived later than the Gryffindor team, so most of the table was already being occupied by mostly boys. They ate a hearty meal, and were talking about their plan when the team got up to leave. Clara and Ginny called out a 'good luck!' before leaving discreetly as possible themselves.

They tip-toed their way down to the field, and then the boys' Slytherin change rooms. Clara was glad that they're weren't any girls on the team, as that would have meant extra work.

Right before entering, Clara pulled Ginny aside. "What if someone sees us?"

Ginny cocked her head. "We use an invisibility charm!"

Clara shook her head. "We haven't learned of any!"

Ginny gave her a look. "You're smart, figure it out!"

Clara racked her brain. "OK… If this isn't 'reckless' than I don't know what is!" She performed a charm she had come across in a book she was studying for exams. Surprisingly, the two of them were now invisible.

"OK!" Ginny exclaimed. She entered the room, but Clara had to hiss at her.

"Ginny! Don't go too fast! I can see a bit of an outline-"

"Oh, ok."

They snuck in together slowly, making sure that the charm wasn't wearing off. Pursing her lips, Clara pointed her wand at the wall.

Slowly, the wall went from slate grey, to striped yellow and red. Ginny chuckled from beside her, and Clara couldn't help but smile too. Ginny ended up making the whole room look like Godric Gryffindor had vomited on it himself!

After about five minutes of rushed work, the two girls found the uniforms.

"What if they just charm it back into Slytherin colours?" Clara asked.

Ginny shrugged. "As I said, they'll still see our magnificent work. And, plus, the Slytherin team is full of arses for heads."

Clara laughed. "True."

And so, they carefully, but quickly, made each uniform sparkle in red and gold. In fact, they were better than the actual Gryffindor uniforms!

Satisfied with their work, they took a quick glance at the room, which was even more Gryffindor than the actual common room. Looking at each other, they smiled and then bolted out of there, hoping not to get caught.

They managed to get onto the field, and they noticed that the Gryffindor team was on the other side of the field. Clara didn't think that anybody saw them, but they snuck their way to the stand stairs, then quickly climbed up.

"Oh, that was bloody-utiful!" Ginny said, with a red-face.

"Yes, yes it was."

Clara watched as the Gryffindor team walked to their change rooms. Harry actually caught a glance of them, to which Clara gave a quick wave, until she burst into another fit of laughter. Harry raised an eyebrow, but continued walking.

The stands started to fill up, and after ten minutes, the whole place was packed. Clara bit her lip nervously.

The Slytherin side of the stands, were full of silver and green. If Clara didn't focus on the image, the colours blended quite beautifully together.

Then, the Gryffindor team walked out, and Clara and Ginny cheered for their house. Clara noticed, that the Slytherins were still not out on the field.

Madam Hooch must've noticed this too, because she went right outside the entrance to the room, before obviously scolding them. They crowd of people were a bit quieter, as if it would help them be able to hear the conversation from fifty feet away.

Madam Hooch entered the change room, which caused everybody in the stands to gasp. Moments later, the Slytherin team walked out, pink-in-cheeks, with their regular outfits.

From beside her, Ginny sighed. "Of course Hooch had to cock it up!"

And then, the game began.

* * *

Honestly, it was one of the most stressful things Clara had ever had to watch. After many penalties, and other things occurred, the score was 80:20, with Gryffindor in the lead. Then, Malfoy was a couple feet away from catching the snitch, and Harry was hopelessly behind him. But, in two second flat, Harry defeated all odds, reached out his arm… And caught the snitch!

Clara felt herself stand up and clap harder than ever before! She was running down, with Ginny right behind, to congratulate Harry and the other members of the team.

Clara fought her way to find Harry first, and when she did, she gave him the biggest hug she could muster.

"Sorry for crushing you!" She yelled on top of the yelling crowd, who were clapping Harry on the back.

"It's fine!" Harry yelled back. He then gave a look of confusion. "Were you-" But his voice was lost, as he was carried on the shoulders by other Gryffindors, to the stands, where Dumbledore held the cup.

Clara smiled as Harry was handed the Cup from a sobbing Wood, and he held it proudly in the air.


	22. Old Fashioned Hero

*** And we have Chapter 22! It's really pretty outside because it's raining. I absolutely love the rain, it makes me happy.**

* * *

 _Exams._ John scoffed. People were actually working toward getting a high grade. Amateurs. They didn't seem to understand that tests didn't tell you anything, except that you remembered the name to a certain spell.

For about a week after the game (which John did not watch, because: books) students seemed to lose all care about the upcoming exams. But, to John's dismay, teachers were actually forcing them to study! There were hours in which John would just be sitting in the Great Hall with all the other third years, reading up on Transfiguration. Problem was, John already read the book, and he didn't find it interesting, so why read it again?

John was currently in that position now; looking at study worksheets that just asked stupid questions like, _How does vanishment work? What is Gump's Third Law? Explain the concept of Conjuration._ John groaned, as he never did well on tests. Well, at least the one he had to study for.

Finally, exam week rolled around, and John wasn't even sure whether or not he was going to make it to the end of the year. John actually memorised what the spell names and movements were, for Charms class. But, they weren't any of the useful ones charms. Why the hell would they need to use a Cheering Charm? Nobody was depressed… Actually, the more John thought about it, the more he theorized that they only added the spell into the curriculum because they knew they would have to use it on someone like Hermione.

But, John was actually truly worried for Potions class. He seemed to really be slacking in that area, and what used to just be an unemotional stare form Snape, turned into a stoney, angry, glare.

To be fair though, John did wonderfully on his potion. It was just the written part he maybe could've done better… John's handwriting seemed to match the " _skill of a five year old_ ," as Snape put it.

And then there was Astronomy, which John was sure he was going to ace. He labelled his chart in ten minutes flat. History of Magic was just plain boring. But, it was so humid in the classroom, John seriously wished he had one of those hologram clothes thingys. _And there it was again…_

Defense was interesting… John had to face a Boggart once more, and the moment he saw it as a pear, he knew something was up. Though, John had to admit that pears were scary, but his Boggart had changed into something truly pathetic. Nevertheless, John was pretty sure he got an 'A' for making his pear fall down onto the ground and smush into gooey mess. John laughed.

John was happier than ever to know that he didn't have to worry about Divination. But, as John was walking back to the common room, he got a glance of Harry, Hermione, and Ron all standing over a piece of parchment. Hermione had silent tears rolling down her cheeks. Ron, read aloud.

" _Lost Appeal. They're going to execute at sunset. Nothing you can do. Don't come down. I don't want you to see it. Hagrid."_

Ron's voice broke.

So, that was what was happening. John knew that Buckbeak was going to be executed. Everybody did. But, John knew that whenever the Three Idiots got over-emotional, the school tended to almost blow up.

John watched as they scurried away, and around fifteen minutes later met up at the same spot, with a silvery-grey cloak in hand. The Invisibility Cloak. John had never actually used the cloak, except he knew that it existed since everything that went on last year… Yowza…

At dinner, John followed them again. They were travelling down a seemingly empty hallway. John tried his best to be less conspicuous. John caught his breath whenever they stopped walking, and he would grab the wall. It was like being a spy, a really horrible spy though.

Hermione whispered, and right when John turned his head on the corner, he saw their bodies disappear from under the cloak. John jumped back to his original position.

John was going to walk down and ask them what they were doing but, he decided against it. Why should he stop them? No, really. Why? This was their own problem… But there was something that was screaming at John to follow. The urge to know what they were doing, and to actually get in trouble. Maybe this was why Clara couldn't stand to be near him… Maybe she thought that he was too troublesome. John smiled at the memory of McGonagall scolding the Gryffindors for the prank played on the Slytherins during the Quidditch match. He was positive that Ginger and Clara had done it, though the red-head probably took the lead. Yeah, gingers were like that…

John shook his head, and realized that they were invisible. So, he might not be even able to follow them. Biting his tongue, John decided against following them. Instead, John cast a sort of perception charm around him. Hopefully, he did it well enough for him not to get noticed. John waited right outside the castle, for he had found an exit to the school building. The sun went down, and the sky was a pinkish-orange.

After half an hour, John heard the unmistakeable sound of hard breaths and running. John turned his head to the opened door to the castle. Out emerged Clara.

"Clara?" John asked, surprised.

Clara squinted. "John? You there? I can't see-"

He removed the charm, and John could instantly see the anger rise up to Clara's face.

"No, no , wait!" John pled.

"What?" Clara asked coldly.

"Don't give me that look! That's what! Also, what are you doing here?"

Clara looked a bit relieved, actually. "Ginny told me that Hermione happened to mention that Buckbeak was getting executed tonight… and… I wanted to stop them."

"How did you know to come here?"

Clara looked a bit out of breath. "I'm friends with a plotting ginger. We knew some ways out of the school to get us to Hagrid's."

For a couple moments, John knew Clara had forgotten of their previous arguments. "Why?"

"Sorry, what?"

John sucked breath. "Why are you so angry at me?"

Clara smiled nervously. "Why? John, you, you forced me to tell you something I wasn't ready to tell you. And don't think for one moment that I didn't know you were planning to somehow find out by yourself. John, I know you."

"You betrayed my trust."

Clara took a stumbling step backwards. "I beg your pardon."

"Clara, months ago we were the best of friends. You would've told me anything. You betrayed my trust!"

"I-I just wasn't ready to tell you specifically."

"Why not?"

Clara's bit her lip. "Because it would've hurt too much for you to know."

"For who, you or me?"

Clara swept her hair out of her face, "I don't know, but it would've hurt us both."

"What's that supposed to mean-"

John's sentence was cut off by a cry from about twenty feet away.

"Clara? John?"

Harry, Hermione, and Ron threw off the Invisibility Cloak, and ran toward the two of them. "What are you doing here?" Harry demanded.

Clara looked around crazily. "Ginny told me that Buckbeak was going to be killed, and I had to come!"

"How did you know to come here?"

Clara smiled guiltily. "It's a long story."Hermione eyes John suspiciously. "And how did you get here?" She glanced at Clara.

John shrugged. "I'm old-fashioned. I followed you."

Harry and Ron seemed dumbfounded, while Hermione seemed plain ashamed. She should've been though. They literally let John, John, stalk them without noticing him.

A mad squeal came from Ron's pocket.

"Scabbers, it's me, you idiot!"

John waved his hands frantically. "Woah, woah, woah, woah! Scabbers is dead! Isn't he? The flat-faced cat ate him!"

"Well, apparently not!" Hermione said gruffly. She looked back at Hagrid's hut. Then, in a whisper, she added, "Please, it's going to happen any moment now-"

Clara took a couple steps forward. Harry grabbed her back.

"What are you doing?" he hissed.

Clara pulled her arm out of his grasp. "I'm going to stop them! Buckbeak didn't do anything wrong!"

"You're going to get in serious trouble!" Hermione added quietly.

"Who gives a damn?" Clara snapped back. "This is a matter of saving an innocent animal's life."

Again, the rat started squealing and shaking uncontrollably.

"Maybe we should feed it?" John suggested. "God knows I get angry when hungry."

"Shut up!" Clara seethed.

Strangled, gurgling sounds started to form in the rat's throat. It was screaming, as if it were being exposed to unimaginable torture.

"Please!" hermione whispered again. "We have to go-"

But even the noise coming from the rat couldn't cover the unmistakeable sound of a swish and thus from an axe.

Clara trembled with silent tears. Harry looked angrily into the sunset. Ron was furiously patting his rat down. Hermione was stifling a sob. And, well, John? John was trying to figure out why he hadn't followed Hermione, Harry, and Ron, so that he could've prevented this.


	23. We Don't Know What's Real

*** Longest chapter yet! My arm is all cramped up too. Well, the summer weather has officially moved in. I feel like I'm dying in a pool of sweat... Ew... I disgust myself. Anyway, Hope you enjoy!**

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Clara took a deep, shuddering breath. Her head was still mulling over the fact that the law allowed an innocent animal to be murdered. Clara didn't even look away when she felt the warm tears glide down her cheek. She did, however, wipe them furiously with anger. A horrid, pained howl emerged from behind them

"Hagrid," Harry said glumly. He began walking toward Hagrid's hut.

John made a face. "I'm not sure-"

Harry shook his head, signifying that he didn't really care.

Hermione shook her head. "No. I mean, how _could_ they? How _dare_ they?"

Ron, whose teeth were chattering, persuaded everyone to walk back to the castle. Clara didn't have the energy to argue. Hell, she didn't have the energy to care that she was walking beside John, the person Clara swore she hated. But, Clara briefly remembered her confession to John. " _I don't know, but it would've hurt us both."_

The sun was setting rapidly, and Ron's cat- Scabbers, seemed to be getting more and more restless… It kept squirming, and trying to wiggle its way out of Ron's grasp.

"What's the matter with him?" Ron complained. Clara hitched a breath when she saw the trouble. It was Crookshanks, leaning on the ground. His eyes were gleaming yellow, and they had an angry glint in them.

Hermione pestered the cat to go away, while John muttered something about ' _stupid cats.'_

But, in two seconds, Ron's rat jumped out of his hand, and sprinted away, with Crookshanks on his tail. Stupidly, Ron followed. Which, in then caused everybody else to run after him.

Then, Ron stopped running abruptly. Clara nearly fell on from her fast break in speed. Ron seemed to have caught Scabbers, and held him tightly in his pocket.

"We need to get back under the cloak," Hermione said. She looked at Clara and John. "Oh, I don't know what to do about you-"

John cleared his throat. "That'll be easy." With one, swift, fluid motion, he waved his wand. Instantly, Hermione narrowed her eyes.

"Where are you?"

John answered, "Still here, just unnoticeable. Came across the spell in a book…"

Hermione nodded. "OK…"

But, then a rustling sound appeared from Clara's right. There was a soft pounding sound, and shuddering breaths. With wide eyes, Clara saw the big, shaggy, black dog appear,

Everybody reached for their wands, but they were too late. The dog pounced, and jumped on Harry's chest.

"Harry!" Clara shrieked.

But, the dog rolled off Harry. It stood up, then attacked Ron. It bit into Ron's arm, and Clara cringed. Clara reminded herself that this wasn't the time to be disgusted. Ron cried out in pain, and Clara attempted to use a spell on the dog, but she missed terribly. It was probably because she was so emotional she couldn't cast a spell right.

The dog dragged Ron, who had stopped yelling in pain-

 _Thump!_ Something hit Clara right across the face. Clara stifled a shout of pain, and felt warm blood sliding down her face. Clara hadn't realized that she'd been knocked to the ground. Dizzily, she attempted to stand upright again.

From beside her, John whispered, " _Lumos."_

Harry did the same, and Clara gasped when she saw that they had run all the way to the Whomping Willow. Its branches were swaying back and forth, tauntingly.

"Ro!" Harry shouted. He took a few steps forward, before Clara stopped him.

"Harry-Branch!"

Harry instantly ducked out of harm's way. He rubbed his face of the grime that dirtied it.

Clara felt sick when she saw Ron's leg catch a root. She clenched her stomach when a _crack!_ Ripped through through the air of Ron's leg snapping. The dog seemed to be dragging Ron to a large gap in between the roots. A second later, his foot was gone.

Hermione was gasping and spitting everywhere. She seemed to be in worse condition that Clara. "We-have-got to-"

Clara faintly noticed the fact that John was staring at her face. Touching her cheek, she caught some blood on her hands. Looking at Hermione, she was bleeding out of her shoulder. Clara cursed herself when she felt sick while looking at John's neck and chest, which had bruises. His robes had tattered a bit, and left blood soaking through faster. Clara realized that the Invisibility Spell, or whatever, must've not worked properly, as she could see John and herself.

"If the dog can get in, then so can we," Harry decided. Clara hadn't realized that she didn't pay any slight attention to what was going on. She nodded vaguely.

Clearing her throat, she added, "It's going to be four of us. We can do it."

John spoke up. "I don't think you should-"

Clara whipped her head around to face john. "Look, we have to save Ron. No one else will die tonight, OK?"

John nodded sadly and defeated.

The four of them darted between the branches of the tree, sweating. Clara wasn't sure if she was the only one, but she was crying. Her face was numb, and everything was spiralling out of control.

It was however, no use. They didn't get a foot closer to the opening, and Hermione was panicking.

Crookshanks slithered forward. He snaked his way through the obstacles, and touch a paw a knot on the trunk.

Surprisingly, the tree stopped moving. It froze instantly; not even a leaf moved. Clara gasped for air.

Hermione was obviously confused. She had her hand on Harry's arm tight, but Clara wasn't jealous. There were more pressing matters than _this_.

Harry muttered, "The cat is friends with the dog." Anger flashed through his eyes.

Hesitantly, the four walked toward the hole. However, a problem arose when they were expected to crawl through the gap in the roots. Crookshanks, with a flick of a tail, slipped in.

"I'll go first," Clara offered. "Smallest," she justified when she saw the looks from the others.

John shook his head. "It's not safe-"

"Nothing is _safe_ John. Just, let me go first, please."

Opening his mouth, then closing it, John seemed to silently agree. Harry, however, shook his head.

"I should go first-"

Clara quirked an eyebrow. "Doesn't it make more sense for the smallest to go first?" Without waiting for an answer, she got on her knees and crawled through. Harry followed.

"Eyes front, soldier," Clara joked to lighten the mood.

"Sorry?" Harry asked, though there was a bit of a nervous shake in his voice.

Maintaining her crawling pace, Clara added, "You have a good view of my rear back there."

Coughing and spluttering came from behind her. Apparently, John had heard, because the next thing she knew- "I hope everything is PG there!"

"What's PG?" Harry whispered anxiously.

Clara laughed. "Muggle thing," she said dismissively.

"But aren't you a pure-"

His sentence didn't finish, for he ran into Clara, who had stopped at the end of the tunnel. Clara wiped her dirty hands on her skirt.

"Nice one, Harry."

Blushing, Harry nodded. Hermione and John appeared seconds later. John glared in Harry's direction.

"Where's Ron?" Hermione whimpered, bringing Clara's attention back to the problem at hand.

Harry claned his cracked glasses on his shirt. "This way," he said, and they all followed Crookshanks.

"Where did the tunnel take us?" John's voice asked, surprising Clara.

"Well, I think it's marked on the Marauder's Map…" Harry's voice trailed off while Clara raised an eyebrow.

"Long story," Harry explained.

"It probably was."

"Anyway, this map, shows all these secret paths. This specific one runs off the map, but it seems to head for Hogsmeade."

Clara nodded, and they walked as fast as they could, while they followed Crookshanks. Clara shuddered when she recalled the snapping sound of Ron's leg. However, Clara was distracted when she realized that Crookshanks went around a corner and was gone.

A small, bright opening shone from ahead. With great longing, Clara pushed herself to get to the light.

Gasping, Clara found herself, along with the three others, in a small, dark room. Unnatural brown and rust coloured stains painted the floor. All the furniture was broken, and the seats had been ripped apart furiously

A door to the right was opened, and without thinking, Clara went through it.

"Clara!" Hermione shrieked softly. "I think we're in the Shrieking Shack!"

Clara stopped. "What?" She looked at the broken chair legs on the ground, and a shattered piece of glass. Clara shook her head, and continued on more carefully.

Clara coughed when she walked, for the hallway she was walking in, was covered in dust. But, there was a stripe of shiny brown where something had been dragged…

" _Nox."_

Clara pushed open the door that was before her. There, on a four-poster bed lay Crookshanks lazily. Leaning against the bed, Ron was clutching his leg, which was bent oddly.

Ron was sweating, and groaning. Something kicked inside Clara, and she hurried to help Ron.

"Shh, shh… It's fine."

Ron whimpered again when Clara tenderly touched his leg. Frowning, Clara removed her cloak.

"What are you doing?" Harry asked.

Without removing her eyes from Ron's leg, she answered, "Saving him." She forcefully ripped her cloak and grabbed a piece of broken chair.

Harry knelt next to Ron and asked, "Ron- Ron, where is the dog?"

Ron moaned when Clara tied the splint she made. But he added, "Not a dog- Harry, it's a trap."

Clara stopped momentarily, but kept working.

"What do you mean?" John asked.

"The dog- _Animagus_ …"

Clara realized Ron's gaze was directed toward behind her shoulder. Glad to be done, but horrified to find what was behind her, she turned. She gasped.

The animagus in question snapped the door shut, making Hermione jump. A man sauntered out of the shadows. Clara felt something rise in her chest when she saw him with deep circles under his eyes, hair to his elbows, and raggedy clothing.

Clara put a hand to her face when she felt a tear slide down. She didn't know why she was even crying!

"Sirius Black?" she asked quietly, with a shaky breath.

She wasn't sure if he heard, for he then raised his wand. "Expelliarmus!" Clara didn't even notice that the wand was Ron's

Clara's wand flew from her left hand, and the same occurred to Harry and Hermione. Clara shivered when the steely, but empty grey eyes stared at Harry.

"I thought you would come and help your friend. Your father would have done the same for me. Brave of you, not to run for a teacher. I'm grateful… it will make things much easier…" The voice was rough, and full of pain. Clara could tell that it hadn't been used in a while. She rubbed the tears away again.

 _Stop crying!_

Sirius Black must've noticed her crying. He knelt in front of her, his sour breath making Clara gag. "Am I making you cry, little girl?"

"Stay away from her!" John shouted.

It touched Clara how much John cared for her. It hurt, even. But, Clara defiantly shook her head in Black's question.

Sneering, Black whipped his head. "Because I cried too! It hurt so much… So much…"

"I know," Clara whispered.

"What's that? You don't know anything!" Black knocked at his head. "You have no idea what they did to my head…" he shivered. Taking a step closer, Clara flinched.

"DON'T YOU DARE HURT HER, OR ANYMORE OF MY FRIENDS!" Harry bellowed.

Sirius Black cackled manically. "Only one person will be hurt tonight. Only one death."

"Oh, and why's that?" Harry spat.

"Harry!" Clara croaked, but her voice failed her.

"You didn't care last time, did you? Didn't mind killing those Muggles for Pettigrew… did you get soft in Azkaban?"

"Harry!" Hermione whispered urgently. "Be quiet!"

"HE KILLED MY MUM AND DAD!"

Clara couldn't stop what happened next, or maybe she could've. But, Harry jumped forward, and punched Black square in the jaw.

Hermione screamed something, while Ron was yelling no words at all.

"HARRY!" Clara screamed.

Harry was now in Black's angry clutches, and was about to be choked. But, Hermione kicked violently.

Black let go, and Harry stumbled out of his grasp. Clara clenched her fist.

"You, crazy son of a bitch!" She shrieked.

To Clara's horror, Black laughed. "It's so true… so true!"

Clara's nose flared. She kneed him, and Black's knees buckled. "You bloody bastard!" She kicked him. "Betraying Harry like that, he doesn't even know-" Clara's voice broke. She collapsed. Saliva dribbled down Clara's lip, but Clara didn't care.

Everything was a blurry haze, and John limped to Clara's side, and pulled her out of the fight. Harry and managed to grab his wand, and Ron was, with great pain, pinning Black down. Hermione helped too, but Harry was so angry.

"GET BACK!" he roared.

Ron scampered to the top of the bed, clutching his leg. Part of the splint had come undone. Hermione was on the other side of the room, her lip bleeding angrily.

"Going to kill me, Harry?" Sirius Black whispered tauntingly. His nose was bleeding, and a bruise was forming around his left eye.

"You killed my parents," Harry whispered back, pointing the wand harder at Black's chest.

"No!" John yelled.

Clara let a hazy eye glance at John.

"Just because he killed your parents, it doesn't mean that you can kill him! What would that make you then, huh?" John asked.

Not looking away from Black's eye, Harry answered, "The winner."

John shook his head, "No, no, no. That's what everybody thinks. That's what _I_ thought. No, it makes you the loser. If you kill him, you're just as bad as he is."

Harry thrusted his wand once more. "No, you don't understand!"

Black interrupted them both. "You're both right. But, you're also wrong." He looked deep into Harry's eyes. "Harry, perhaps your opinion would change if you knew the whole story."

"I completely understand!" Harry cried. "You never heard her… That night, when she tried to stop Voldemort from killing me… Her screams, Sirius! You never heard those screams! AND YOU CAUSED ALL OF IT!"

Crookshanks humped playfully onto Black's lap. Then, as if a wave of betrayal hit him, Crookshanks dug his nails into Sirius's chest.

Hermione sobbed from her corner.

Clara's throat tightened when she realized Harry's intentions of killing the cat too… Harry raised his wand.

Time stopped. Both Clara and John screamed "No!"

And then, steps were heard from downstairs.

"WE'RE UP HERE!" Hermione screamed frantically. "WE'RE UP HERE-SIRIUS BLACK- _QUICK_!"

Harry's hand twitched as Sirius moved out of the way. The footsteps were getting closer… and closer…

The door burst and professor Lupin charged in. His eyes glanced at Ron, Hermione, then Clara and John.

" _Expelliarmus_!" Lupin shouted.

Everybody's wands flew into Lupin's hands. Clara felt herself trembling.

"Where is he, Sirius?" Lupin whispered.

Clara felt like throwing up. Had she had her wand, she would've hexed her teacher. He.. he was in league with Black! Only Harry was the one who hadn't caught on yet… Everything told Clara to curse, scream, and yell, but something stopped her.

"But then…" Professor Lupin muttered. "Why hasn't he shown himself before now? Unles… Unless he was the one… unless you switched… without telling me?"

With sickening silence, Lupin lowered his wand. Black nodded.

Clara's heart sank like the bloody Titanic.

"I DON'T BELIEVE IT!" Hermione cried. She raised herself from where she had been curled up. "You-you-"

"Hermione-"

"-you and him!"

"I didn't tell anyone! I've been covering up for you-"

"Listen to me, please!"

Clara was shaking. Hermione rarely got _this_ upset.

"I trusted you!" Harry bellowed. And all the time, you've been his best friend!"

"You're wrong," Lupin said calmly. "I haven't been his friend until now."

"NO!" Hermione shrieked again. "Don't trust him Harry, don't trust him! He wants you dead! He's a _werewolf_!"

"Hermione, please," Lupin begged. "You are ⅓ correct in that I am certainly a werewolf but- I have not been helping Sirius, and I do not by any standards wish for Harry to be dead."

Ron tried to get up from the bed, but collapsed once more.

Lupin made a move, looking concerned, but Ron wasn't buying it.

"Get away from me, _werewolf!_ "

Lupin stopped abruptly, before turning toward Hermione. "How long have you known?"

To Clara's disgust, Hermione said quite proudly, "Ages, since Professor Snape's essay…"

Lupin smiled colly. "Star charts? Boggart?"

"Both."

"Wait, how the hell did they let a werewolf be a teacher?" John asked.

Lupin cocked his head. "You, John, are quite interesting. I must say, you're Boggart surprised me, to say the least-"

John cut him off. "Stop trying to save time. Answer the question. I'm not the one who's being interrogated here."

"Neither am I"

John cracked his knuckles. "Well, you are now."

Lupin chuckled. "I never realized just how _sly_ you are, John. Quite ambitious, determined… If I didn't trust the Sorting Hat's judgement, I would've said you belonged in Slytherin."

John nodded. "Now's not the time for small-talk. I'm in Gryffindor because I chose to be. Now, if you're not going to answer, I will."

Lupin raised his eyebrows.

"It doesn't matter."

Harry choked, Hermione spluttered, Clara frowned.

"-It doesn't matter because you have so far been the best teacher in a very long while, and I gave a feeling something else is going on…"

"Really, what?"

John smiled. "Don't know, and that's the best part, isn't it?"

Sirius nodded. "He's right… There is more!"

"Harry, I wrote the Marauder's Map, along with your father… But that's not important now. What does matter is, do you use your Invisibility Cloak?"

"Yeah…"

"Well, I can still see your name on the map when you're using it. So, that night when you visited Hagrid's, and I had the Map, I saw someone with you…"

"Yeah, Ron and Hermione!"

Lupin shook his head. "No. Not them. At first, I thought it was a malfunction-"

"No one was with us!"

"-And I saw a name: _Sirius Black."_

A cool, chilling feeling ran down Clara's spine at the name being used.

"I saw him collide with you; I watched as he pulled the two of you into the Whomping Willow-"

"One of us!" Ron shouted angrily.

Hot realization sprang into Clara's eyes. She knew why she was crying, she had known all along.

"No, Ron. Two of you." Lupin moved toward Ron. "May I have a look at the rat?"

"What's Scabbers got to do with it?"

"Don't do it, Ron!" Harry shouted.

Ron protected Scabbers once more.

Clara mustered all the strength she could. "Ron, give him the bloody damn rat!"

"But-"

"Just bloody do it!"

Hesitating, Ron pulled out the thrashing rat, holding him by the tail. Lupin examined the rat with awe, but it was the kind of curiosity that emanated hate.

"That's not a rat," Clara croaked.

"What?" Harry, Hermione, and Ron all asked at once. John remained silent.

Nodding quietly, Lupin said, "Quite right. You are more brilliant than I had imagined, Miss Oswald."

Clara wasn't sure to be offended or not.

Showing his yellow teeth, Sirius Black added, "That rat is an Animagus by the name of Peter Pettigrew."

Somehow, Clara had known this all along.


	24. Can't Win

*** I am so happy that I was able to get my two other friends into Last Week Tonght with John Oliver. _Salmon Cannon..._ Anyway, I actually watched Harry Potter in class today... It was a blessed day. Albeit, enjoy! Pufflz!**

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"The rat is an Animagus by the name of Peter Pettigrew."

John shook his head in bewilderment. "That was highly unexpected considering that he's _dead_!"

Hermione spluttered. "That is utterly ri-dic-u-lous!"  
Harry pointed angrily at Black. "John's right! Pettigrew's been dead for twelve years and _you_ killed him!"

Baring his teeth, Black answered, "I meant to. Got the best of though… But not this time… I swear, not this time!" He cackled again.

"Seriously, what is funny about the situation here?" John asked seriously.

Everybody gave him funny looks.

John rolled his eyes. "We, are in the midst of a mass-murderer and a werewolf, a potential not-so-dead not-so-actually _rat_ , and you're laughing about killing?"

John was cut off, however, by the sudden movements of the squashed-faced cat. The ugly thing was thrown off Sirius, who dived for Scabbers, and the cat jumped on John in fright.

"You, get off, _now_ ," John warned.

Lupin dragged Sirius Black off of Ron, who unfortunately had been victim to Black's attack. "We have to explain to them first! They have to understand…" Lupin panted.

Black struggled against Lupin's grasp. "We can explain afterwards!"

"We owe Harry the truth Sirius! Please!" Lupin begged,

John realized that Black stopped struggling. He also noticed the solemn looks on everybody's faces, except… Clara's. Hers was masking some other emotion, that was a face john knew very well. It was the face he saw everyday when he looked in the mirror. Scratch that, whenever he actually looked in the mirror.

Shaking, Black sneered, "Make it quick Remus. I want to be imprisoned for the murder I supposedly committed."

Ron gasped as he moved his leg. "I've had enough of this. They're nuts!" Harry, and Hermione helped him stand up. Clara winced just as Ron did, and John noticed her eyes drift to the broken splint.

Lupin raised his wand. "Ron, everybody- Just hear me out. Please, at least just keep a grip on Peter-"

"HIS NAME IS SCABBERS, NOT PETER!" Ron swayed, and fell back onto the bed in the middle of the room.

Harry snarled, "There were witnesses who saw Pettigrew die. A whole street, and he died because you _murdered_ him!"

"Please!" Clara shrieked. Everybody was shocked into silence. "Just-Just hear him out, OK?"

Harry narrowed his eyes. "Why? He killed my parents! I don't want to hear a single word that is uttered out of his filthy mouth!"

Cara shifted in her spot. She was lying against the far wall, and her cheek was bleeding badly. John didn't even think she noticed the bruises that covered her arms and legs and face… "We have to listen to them. I know what was done that night wasn't fair, but-"

"Wasn't fair? Clara, how can you say that? He helped Voldemort kill my parents! My parents trusted him! My parent's deserve getting killed, I don't deserve losing my parents-"

"FOR GOD'S SAKE HARRY, JUST THE BLOODY HELL UP!" Clara yelled. Harry instantly quieted. John was surprised, and he knew that Clara was right now holding the floor. "Harry," Clara began, "Nobody deserves anything. Not ever. But, after all you've been through, you are owed something: the truth. And whether or not they tell you the truth is up to you to decide. And don't you dare say that losing a parent isn't fair. Because I lost one and now I'm left with a dad. And sometime it's great, but most times it's awful trying to live with someone in the same house who shares so much pain with you, and can't seem to brighten your day, ever." She sniffled.

Harry gulped. "Clara-I'm sorry."

"If your bloody sorry than listen to what they have to say."

Harry looked down. "Fine. Go on with your story," he said gruffly.

"All right…" Lupin said. "But I will need your help Sirius."

John's head snapped when there was a large cracking sound. Lupin stuck his head out, then came back in, saying, "No one there…"

"This is place is bloody haunted!" Ron moaned.

Lupin nodded grimly. "No..no.. I'm afraid that's where it all began. Me being foolhardy and getting bitten… The sounds made from here, the Shrieking Shack, we caused by me."

"You don't expect me-" Ron began, but everyone hushed him, particularly Clara.

"I was quite a small boy when I was bitten," Lupin said. "My parents tried everything, but back then there was no cure. Even now, the Wolfsbane potion Professor Snape has been making is fairly recent. As long as I take it in the week of the preceding full moon, I keep my mind when I transform. I can curl up in my office… And wait for the moon to wane again."

"What did you before the Wolfsbane potion?" John asked.

Lupin frowned. "Every month I became a monster. I thought it impossible to come to Hogwarts. Who would want their child to study alongside someone like me?"

"Somehow you ended up teaching students," John pointed.

"Well, Dumbledore trusted me, just as he did all those years ago. Even this," he gestured toward the room, "was built for me. The Whomping Willow was planted the year I entered, to protect this place why I transformed each month. There's a reason people call it the 'Shrieking Shack'."

John wrinkled his nose. "So this whole thing was built to suit your monthly _issues_? Do even call it your monthly?"

Sirius Black laughed, Lupin frowned even further. Hermione and Clara looked absolutely frightened, though definitely not as much as Ron and Harry. It took a couple a seconds more for John to realize what he said.

"Fine, just go on with your story."

"My transformation were painful. My howls of pain could be heard from the nearby village, and they all thought this place was haunted. Even Dumbledore encouraged the rumour for my safety. Nobody even dares approach it now…"

"Great," John muttered. But, John was positively excited. He couldn't wait to find out the answer to the mystery. It was that irresistible urge to just _know_.

"Despite that, I was happy. I had three great friends: Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew, and James Potter. Harry, _your_ dad. I didn't tell them of my monthly problems, because I didn't want to be abandoned. And, of course they noticed my monthly disappearances. I lied; said that my mother was sick, or something. But, they, like Hermione, figured me out."

John made a time-out gesture. "Woah, woah, woah. I know of your guys's time at Hogwarts. Are you telling me, that the four pranksters of the school, who were probably idiots, figured out that you were a werewolf? Talk about persistence..."

"We were," Black said.

"Anyway," Lupin continued, "They didn't abandon me. In fact, they became Animagi just to help me out. Non-registered. Of course."

"You broke the law."

Lupin cracked a smile. "Several times"

Harry cocked his head. "My dad was an Animagus?"

"Yes, Harry. It took him and Sirius years to figure it out, but in our fifth year they managed to do it. They could change into an animal at will."

Hermione bit her lip. "But, how would that help you? Them turning into animals?"

"Well, I'm sure you know that werewolves can only affect humans. So, every month, they helped me out by sneaking out of the school under James's Invisibility Cloak. Peter, was a rat, so he could slip between the attacking branches and touch the knot that freezes it. We would slip into the shack. Under the influence, I wasn't as dangerous."

"How much money did you spend on the alcohol?" John asked seriously.

"A lot."

Black scratched his ear like a dog. "Hurry up, Remus!"

"We would travel the Hogwarts' land those nights; Them as animals and me as a werewolf. That's why we created the Marauder's Map. We sighed it with our nicknames. Sirius is Padfoot. Peter is Wormtail. James was Prongs."

"What animal were-" Both Harry and John asked at the same time.

Hermione though, cut them off. "What were you thinking? Running in the dark with a werewolf! What is someone saw you, or you accidently bit someone?"

"There were near misses," Lupin admitted. "We would laugh afterwards. We were so young then, though. Thoughtless, careless, reckless-carried away by our own cleverness."

"What cleverness?" John joked.

Lupin grimaced. "We were some of the brightest students in the school. Wonder how we were able to create something like the Marauder's Map? Nevertheless, I always feel guilty for betraying Dumbledore's trust. He didn't know that I aided three students become Animagi illegally, or that I broke rules that kept so many safe. But I always forgot, because I would plan next month's adventure."

Something happened to Lupin's face, so that it contorted into a blank slate. "I had a constant battle with myself. Whether or not to tell Dumbledore that my friends were Animagi? Obviously I didn't do it. And, then I got a job I shunned all of my adult life. I convinced myself that Sirius was getting into the school using Dark Magic from Voldemort, and not because he was an Animagus… In a way, Snape was right."

"Snape?" Sirius said sharply. "What's he got to do with anything?"

"Sirius, he's here," Lupin breathed. "Teaching, I mean." He looked at everybody suddenly. "Your Professor Snape went with us to school. He didn't want me to become your professor for the DADA post. Why? You ask? Sirius played a trick on him, one that involved me-"

"He deserved it!" Black defended.

Lupin waved him off. "Sirius wanted to know what I was up to every month. We were in the same year, and well, we didn't like each other, to put it likely. He especially didn't like James… Perhaps it was his talent on the Quidditch field…"

 _Obviously a lie…_ John thought. He could tell of course, by the way Lupin fiddled with hands, and took a deep breath. Lying was an art, in John's opinion.

"...Well, he must've seen Madam Pomfrey take me to the Whomping Willow one night. Sirius thought it would be a good idea to get Snape to tap the tree knot with a long stick, to go in after me. He did it, and had it not been for James to risk his life, and pull him out, he would've met a fully grown werewolf… Snape caught a glimpse of, though. He was made promise not to tell anybody."

Harry looked nervous. "Is that why he doesn't like you? Because he thought you were in on the joke?"

"Yes, Harry."

John scoffed. "Well, first of all, who the hell does that? Black here thought that a near-death-experience would be funny? It's really not, believe me. And, who wouldn't be angry for almost dying. I would be, in fact, I think literally here can say the same thing."

"Quite right, Mr. Smith," a drawling voice came from behind Lupin.

Their Potions Master, Professor Snape, pulled of the Invisibility Cloak, and aimed his wand toward Lupin.

The Invisibility Cloak, which he got from where?… When they were being stupid and in a rush… John realized.

"Here we go," John sighed.


	25. Hello Hello

*** Chapter 25! So proud... Anyway, I'm hoping to have the story finished as soon as possible since I'm going to Guatemala early July. Also, don't listen to Adele while reading fanfiction. It makes everything so much more sad...**

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"Quite right, Mr. Smith," the unmistakeable voice of Snape drawled. In an instant, Clara's professor threw the Invisibility Cloak off of him, and letting it drape aside. Clara bit her tongue, as Snape had his wand pointed toward Professor Lupin.

His lip curling, Snape says, "Found the cloak at the base of the Whomping Willow. It was quite useful… _quite_ useful…"

Clara eyed her professor carefully. He was covered in grime, from no doubt having to crawl his way in. Though, the glint in his eyes were dangerous. Clara had a feeling that there was something more deep-rooted to Snape's anger toward the Marauder's than a simple prank gone wrong…

"You may be wondering how I knew of your location. Well, well, it had just so happened that I was about to hand you your potion, which you had forgotten to take tonight, when I noticed a certain map on your desk… One glance, and I saw you running off."

"Severus-" Lupin warned.

If possible, Snape's face contorted into one of even more of a sneer! "Time and time again I told the Headmaster that you had been aiding Black into the castle. I never thought you would even dare to use the childhood place as you hideout," he smiled coldly, "again."

"Severus," Lupin plead. "Please, Sirius isn't here to kill Harry, or for that matter, _anyone_!"

"I think that we'd better contact Azkaban, don't you think? Let them know of their two new convicts... I wonder what Dumbledore will think. After all, he trusted you so much, didn't he? Enough to make you Defense Against the Dark Arts professor."

"Please," Lupin spat. "Are you going to send me away to Azkaban just because I took your job?"

In a large, BANG! There were suddenly very large coils wrapping around Lupin's mouth, wrists, and legs. Professor Lupin stumbled over, no longer having an balance.

Clara had shrieked at the loud sound a bit, and back away. She felt blood in her mouth, from all the tongue-biting. She shivered slightly.

Inraged, Black lunged toward Snape, but Snape pointed his wand even more fervently. "I'll do it…" Snape warned. The wand was thrusted again, into Black's direction.

"No!" Clara shouted. She tried to stand up onto her shaky legs. "I mean, we've got to let them at least tell us their side of the story! We can't just kill them!"

"Plus, killing them, would be unwise as to helping you get the DADA teaching position," John interjected.

"Miss Oswald, and Mr. Smith! Are you suggesting that I'm only doing this for a job? You are both in for detention, no suspension! You all are!" Snape snapped.

"Please, Professor," Hermione added. "But, well, at least Clara's got a point. We should let say their story… If there was any mistake-"

"KEEP QUIET ALL OF YOU! ESPECIALLY _YOU_ , MISS GRANGER!" Snape said furiously. Clara couldn't help but notice that there was a little more venom added into his words.

Black scratched his head again. "Come one Severus. Is some silly teen quarrel going to keep you from seeing the truth? You're smarter than that, Severus!" He jerked his head toward Ron. "As long as he brings the rat to the Castle…"

"You're not getting back to the castle, I'm afraid, Black. I'll call out the dementors as soon as we're out… Be that as it may, I may have to drag you, if necessary."

Black's face paled. "The rat… the rat…"

"Sir," Clara said. "They told us that the rat-"

"I thought I said silence?" Snape retorted. "We'd better get a move-on. The dementors may want to kiss your Defense professor as well…"

Clara blocked Snape's way, along with Harry. John joined a couple seconds later, but it made the whole situation more awkward.

"Get out of the way," Snape said, through gritted teeth. "Don't forget if I hadn't been here to save your sorry skins…"

"With all due respect, _sir_ ," Clara said. "Had Professor Lupin wanted to kill Harry, or any of us, for that matter, he certainly had many opportunities to do so. He's had the whole year, basically. Why would he help Black?"

"Oswald, don't ask me how a filthy werewolf brain works!"

Clara straightened her back, hoping to add some height, "It's _Miss_ Oswald, and you clearly don't understand how the mind of a killer works. See, had Professor Lupin wanted to kill Harry, he would've done it sometime when he was alone. Private lessons perhaps? No killer gives themselves up to the killer victim. That's stupid."

"Are you calling me stupid? How dare-"

"No. I'm merely stating the fact that there is something else going on here! And you're too stubborn to see past some teen issues from school!"

"Get out of my way-"

"No, Clara's right," Harry said. "You can't get past what happened during your time as a students in Hogwarts that you won't even listen!"

"SILENCE! NO STUDENT OF MINE SHALL SPEAK TO ME LIKE THAT!" Snape's face was too pale to redden, but Snape was definitely angry. "Oh, Potter… Just like your father… I saved your necks; you should be on your knees! You would have died too, just like your father! Believing in Black! NOW STEP OUT OF THE WAY!"

Clara sneered. "Like Hell. I bet James Potter died for his son at the moment, not his friend. And if you think that yelling at us is going to get us to back off, you're completely wrong-"

" _Expelliarmus!"_ Harry yelled, cutting Clara off. But, Everyone else had cast the spell at the same time, shooting Snape into the wall, earning him a cut.

With a shaky breath, Clara made her way over to her professor. She examined him, and concluded that he was unconscious.

"He's still alive," Clara said. "No need to worry too much…"

"Oh Lord, we attacked a teacher!" Hermione whimpered. "We-we attacked a teacher! We're going to get into so much trouble!"

"I attacked like five in the Academy…" John grumbled. He quickly shook his head.

Black bent over to help Lupin from his bonds. Her professor smoothened himself out.

"Thank you, Harry," he said.

"I never said I believed you," Harry snapped.

"Then perhaps it's time for some proof?" Thrusting his hands out, Lupin asked, "I need Peter."

John held his hands up. "Why didn't we do the whole proof-thing at the beginning? Why would you tell us that fantastical story?"

"So you would understand-"

"Um, it sounds like you were buying time… That's what I would do!" John said, matter-of-factly.

"John, please!" Hermione said. "We don't have much time! Let's get this done before Professor Snape comes to!"

Ron tightened his grasp on Scabbers/Peter. "Anyway… Why are you so obsessed with Scabbers? Peter Could've turned into one of the millions of rats! How do you know which one you guys are after if Black was locked up in prison?"

"Fair question. Good one, actually," John pointed. "You're learning!"

To Clara's surprise, even Lupin didn't know.

"Yeah, Sirius. How did you know?" Lupin frowned.

Slipping his spider-hands into his coat pocket, Black pulled out a folded paper. It was a photograph of Ron and his family in Egypt from last summer. Clara had forgotten that the Weasleys had been in the _Daily Prophet_. There, on photo-Rom's shoulders, was Scabbers.

"How did you come across this?" Lupin asked.

"Fudge," Black answered. "He gave the paper when he came to inspect the prison. I saw Peter… on the boy's shoulder… I knew him! How? How many times had I seen him transform? The caption read that the boy was going back to school… Hogwarts, where Harry was…"

"Oh my God!" Lupin gasped, with realization.

"What? What?" Ron asked, craning his neck, trying to look at the paper.

"The rat's toe is missing!" Lupin said.

"So?" Ron snapped.

"It's so simple… and brilliant too! He cut it off _himself_!" Lupin exclaimed.

"I'm sorry, what?" Clara asked in disbelief, and disgust.

Black nodded crazily. "Didn't you know? When I cornered him that night, he yelled for the whole street to hear that I betrayed Lily And James. Wand behind back, he blew up the street, and anyone within a twenty-foot radius of him! The, he sped off…"

"Ron, didn't you know that the largest bit of Peter they found was his finger?" Lupin asked, surprisingly gently.

Clara immediately felt bad for Ron. The position he was in! It must've been conflicting…

"Scabbers has been in my family for ages! He probably just got into some rat fight!"

"Twelve years, Ron," Lupin reminded. "Twelve years! Why did he live so long?"

"We-we took good care of him!" Ron's voice cracked.

"Not looking so good? Is he now? Been losing his weight ever since he heard if Black's escape…"

Ron pointed an angry finger at Crookshanks, who was purring on the bed. "He's been scared by the bloody cat!"

Clara knew, however, that Scabbers had been looking sick before ever coming in contact with Crookshanks.

Black stroked the cat behind its ears. "He's not a mad cat. He's quite brilliant actually… Helped me, infact. Would steal the Gryffindor passcodes from the boy… Even tried to capture Peter for me! Crookshanks saw right through Peter's disguise!"

John cracked his knuckles. "What about the blood we found on the sheets?"

"Yeah," Ron spluttered. "What about the blood?"

Black laughed. "Peter's faked his own death before!"

"I bet it was to save himself after you killed my parents!" Harry spat.

"Harry-" Lupin said desperately. "HARRY! Don't you see? Everybody thinks that Sirius betrayed your parents, but no! It was Peter! _Sirius_ tracked Peter down!"

"THAT'S NOT TRUE!" Harry cried. "HE WAS THEIR SECRET-KEEPER! HE SAID SO! HE SAID HE KILLED THEM!"

"Please," Black croaked. Clara felt like wrapping her arms around the man because of the hurt that was in his voice. But, she was 13. "Harry, I might've as well killed them. I convinced them to change Peter last-moment, instead of me. Then, the night your parents died, I checked on Peter. But he wasn't there… I got worried, and checked your parents' house. I saw them, dead. And I realized what Peter had done... What I had done and caused."

"I-" Harry's voice broke.

Clara walked over to Harry, and hugged him lightly. It was probably more comfort for Clara than it was for Harry, because she was _really_ scared. Properly, and really scared.

"Enough," Lupin snapped. "Just, give me the rat!"

Ron protected the rat. "Whatcha going to do with him?"

"Force him to show himself."

Ron hesitated for very long moments. Finally, he gave up, and handed the rat to Professor Lupin. The rat was squealing uncontrollably again.

"Ready, Sirius?"

He nodded, and together, Black using Snape's wand, they zapped the rat. Clara clamped her hand over her mouth when that rat was frozen mid-air. Then, it contorted, and hit the floor.

Hermione shrieked at what they saw. Like a fast-forward film, a head, a proper head, popper out of the rat's body, Then, proper limbs, and no more tail… In five seconds, there was a full-grown man in front of them.

Clara stepped back, because the look in the man's- no, _Peter's_ eyes, were killer.


	26. We're Still Going to Kill You

*** OK, so here's the deal. I have to update a little faster now since I'm going to Guaremala on the fifth of July. I need to finish the story within a couple days, or else you won't get an update for around three weeks. There's no Internet where I'm going. Anyway, that's it.**

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John stepped back in surprises when he saw Peter Pettigrew. It wasn't like John didn't not believe in Remus Lupin's story, but rather, found it quite unlikely. Not impossible, just extremely unlikely.

Peter was short, shorter than John in fact. He was bald at the top of his head, and his hair was wild. It wasn't like a curly mess of hair, like John's, but more like his hair had been subject to electric shock. His pointed nose and black, watery eyes, made him look even less human.

"Long time no see, Peter," Lupin said coolly.

"S-Sirius? R-Remus?" Peter stuttered. "My old friends… yes…"

John flinched when he saw Black raise his wand, but exhaled sharply when Lupin forcefully grabbed Black's wrist.

"We've been talking about you, Peter. About when Lily and James died…" Lupin said, once he had Black under control.

"S-surely you don't _believe_ what he's saying, Remus! He-he tried to kill me!" Peter begged.

"Ah, yes. I've heard of that. I would like to bring some clarity to-"

"Oh, and he's come to kill me again! Remus, please old friend, you've got to help me, you've got to help me!"

"Nobody will try to kill you until everything's been sorted out," Leupin explained.

John narrowed his eyes when he saw Peter's gaze drift to the boarded windows and only door. He was quite sure that Pettigrew was meaning to escape.

"I-I've been waiting for Sirius to hunt be down for twelve years!" Peter cried.

"Oh, you haven't been hiding from me for twelve years," Black said, menacingly. "At mt time in Azkaban, I heard the mutters and the wails of other prisoners saying that you, _Peter_ , gave Voldemort information about James and Lily's hideout. But, that caused Voldemort's downfall, didn't ir?" Black leaned forward, "Peter, there are many of Voldemort's supporters who want to get you for bringing down the Dark Lord's reign," he whispered, almost to himself.

"Remus!" Peter begged again. "You don't believe this, this _madness_!"

"I'm having trouble grasping the idea of why an innocent man would hide for twelve years as a rat," Lupin said.

"I was scared! Definitely innocent, but scared nonetheless!" Peter defended. "Voldemort's supporters are only after me, because, because I put their best man in Azkaban!"

Black snarled. "You dare say that I spied for Voldemort? I'll never understand how you Peter, became a spy for the start!"

"I...would... _never..._ become a spy!" Peter panted.

John was having trouble deciding on which side to support. A supposedly dead, innocent man? Or an Azkaban escapee, and convicted murderer. Despite all common sense, John was leaning toward Black. He didn't know why… He kind of just knew _who_...

Black continued to spit accusations toward Peter, but John couldn't fail to notice the colour draining from Peter's face each time. Or that his eyes would wander around the room ecstatically.

Wandering eyes and fidgeting were some of the firsts signs of lying.

Then, Hermione asked something quite intelligent. "Sir, if you don't mind, hasn't Scabbers, er whoever been sleeping with Ron and Harry for a couple years now? Why hadn't he tried to kill Harry earlier if he were working for um, You-Know-Who?"

Peter went a little mad. "See? See Remus? I haven't done anything to Harry!"  
"You wouldn't have done anything Peter unless it was told upfront to you! Stupid idiot…" Black muttered.

Again, Hermione spoke. "How did, er, Black escape from Azkaban?"

"Yes! How did he escape from Azkaban Remus? Hm?" Peter asked frantically.

Pondering his answer for a bit, Black said, "I'm not really sure how, actually. I knew I was innocent, and it's what kept me going. Knowing I was innocent was actually a happy thought, so the Dementors couldn't suck it out of me. But, I became a dog… Dementors can't sense animal emotions like human emotions."

"And then I saw Peter in that picture, and I realized that he was Hogwarts with Harry. He would be ready to strike at any moment. He'd be welcomed back to those those who followed Voldemort with honours…"

"So I had to do something! I became a dog again, and was so skinny I slipped through my bars. The dementors only thought of me as a less complex being mentally and emotionally, and barely noticed me…" he shuddered, " _Barely_. But, I swam to the mainland as a dog and lived in the forest since."

John felt awful. The pain of this man, just to keep his best friend's son safe… John suddenly had a sensation of déjà vu. It was weird, because this scenario was familiar…

Harry nodded, to prove that he believed in Black. Next to John, Clara sighed.

Petr began begging and pleading. Sirius kicked him hard, and Peter begged even more. John faintly noticed that Clara had threatening tears in her eyes.

"Shall we kill him together?" Sirius asked.

"Yes, I shall think so," Lupin answered sadly. Again, John felt another pang of hurt inside himself that coursed throughout his whole body.

Peter, on his knees, scrambled toward Ron. "Ron… I've been good! I've been a good rat! You're on my side? Right, Ron?"

Ron, stared at Peter angrily. "I let you sleep in my _bed_!"

John coughed. "That's right! A grown man-rat slept in your bed, Ron. And you Harry with the special map didn't notice?"

Harry stuttered, but was cut off by Pettigrew's cries.

"I was a good rat, Master!"

The final word electrified John, and he shuddered. John clenched his fists.

Peter scurried to Hermione's side, and clawed at her robes.

"You wouldn't let them, sweet, sweet, girl…"

Hermione yanked her robes from Pettigrew's grasp, and hit the wall behind her while backing away, horrified.

Clara backed up slowly too, but Peter grabbed her too, which caused her to shriek.

"Don't touch me, you rat-faced bastard!" Clara kicked furiously, and jumped back, panting.

Peter knelt below Harry next, and whispered, "Harry… You're just like your father…"

Black went ballistic.

"DON'T YOU EVEN _TALK_ TO HARRY! HOW DARE YOU? HOW DARE YOU TALK ABOUT JAMES IN FRONT OF HIM?"

Lupin and Black grabbed Pettigrew by the shoulders, and pushed him onto the ground. Black whipped out his wand.

"You sold Lily and James to Voldemort, deny it?"

John felt like collapsing when the tears came bursting from Peter's face. He stumbled back, breathing hard. He couldn't take tears. Not because they showed you were weak, but because they were just so painful to watch.

"What could I have done?" Peter shrieked. "The Dark Lord had such weapons! I wasn't able to resist him! I was never brave like you three!"

"THANKS TO YOU IT'S ONLY US TWO, PETTIGREW!" Black yelled. "YOU WERE A SPY FOR A YEAR, _A YEAR_ , BEFORE LILY AND JAMES DIED!"

"He was taking over everywhere! Why would I refuse? What been gained?"

"Innocent lives!" Sirius snapped.

"He would've kill me!" Pettigrew said, panting.

"YOU SHOULD'VE DIED! DIED RATHER THAN BETRAY YOUR FRIENDS! WE WOULD'VE DONE IT FOR YOU!"

To John's horror, Black and Sirius raised their wands.

"Good bye, Peter."

Clara whimpered, and Hermione covered her eyes. A sudden surge of anger vaulted through John.

"NO! WE ARE NOT KILLING HIM! KILLING ISN'T THE ANSWER! AND IF YOU THINK IT IS, THEN YOU _WILL_ ANSWER TO _ME_!"

Lupin frowned. "John, you are merely a boy. This is of no concern of yours. You do not decide who dies or not."

"Maybe not every day, _Remus_ ," John panted. "But me being a boy doesn't mean I'm going to let you do something so _STUPID_ that you'll end up ruining everybody else's lives. I am 100% sure that nobody here wants to see a man die!"

"John, this piece of vermin killed Harry's parents, in cold blood. He deserves to die!" Lupin yelled. "He saved his own skin rather than protect his friends."

"I never said he doesn't deserve punishment!" John argued. "Just no killing. Give him hell in Azkaban, but no death. Death is kinder than Azkaban"

"Th-thank you," wheezed Pettigrew, as he was let go. Pettigrew flung himself onto John.

"If you think this means I support you in any way, you are completely wrong," John said. "Make one move and I may just take back what I said and do it myself."

The words sickened John as he said them. He couldn't bring himself to say 'kill' but, the point was made.

"No second chances. I'm that sort of a person, _Pettigrew_. NOW GET OFF!"

Peter jumped back, and cradled himself in his arms. Slowly, Lupin and Black lowered their wands.

"You're right, Mr. Smith," Lupin admitted. "Death is kinder than Azkaban. Now, stand aside." John obeyed, and Lupin pulled his wand out again. "I'm only going to tie him up, OK?"

Seconds later, Peter was bound and gagged on the floor.

"If you transform Peter, we will kill you!" Black warned.

John stared at the shaking figure of Peter, but decided that he had seen worse.

Lupin straightened his back. "Right, we best be off. I can't mend bones like Madam Pomfrey, but I can do my best."

He strode over to Ron, and whispered, " _Ferula."_ Bandages wrapped around his leg, and bound them tightly into a new splint.

Lupin looked at Clara appreciatively. "You did well, Miss Oswald. Shame the first one broke."

Clara nodded nervously, but John noticed that her eyes never left Peter.

"What do we do about Professor Snape?" Hermione asked tentatively.

Lupin bent over, and put two fingers to Snape's neck. "He's fine. He's still unconscious. _Mobilicorpus!"_ Invisible strings tugged at Snape;s lims, and he was hovering a couple of inches above the ground. Lupin gathered the Invisibility Cloak and tucked it safely in his pocket.

"Two should be chained to him," Black spat, and kicked Peter on the foot.

"I'll do it," Lupin said.

"And me," Ron offered.

There were thick, metal shackles that were conjured from the air. Peter was upright again, and attached at the arms to Ron and Lupin. John still wasn't sure about how Ron felt, now knowing that he slept with a murderer/adult man/rat. John winced when he realized what he thought.

Crookshanks led everyone out, with his tail bobbing behind him. John took a breath and followed the ugly cat.


	27. When I Say Run

*** I am literally writing a chapter a day now... Oh well! Also, if anyone watches Last Wekk Tonight, did they notice the subtle reference from last chapter? No? OK... Anyway, my friend watched "The Angels Take Manhattan" yesterday, for the first time! She cried to much, because Rory and Amy were her favourite. I personally just think that Rory is the best...**

* * *

Clara was finding this whole experience to be quite frustrating. She was so conflicted. First, she was so proud of John standing up to their professor like that. She never knew how much he was against killing. Well, until he said the last bit, about killing Peter himself. It was so unlike the character that had performed before.

Second, Clara felt awful because she kind of wanted Peter Pettigrew to die. She wanted him to know the pain he caused a boy. And maybe it was just her sentimental feelings that were for that boy that made her think like that.

Third, Clara was almost certain, that if she wanted to, she would've pulled the figurative trigger, killing Pettigrew. Clara didn't hate him, that was too much like the emotion Clara harboured for John. She despised and wished pain and horror on his very soul.

Clara shuddered at her thoughts while she went through the tunnel that lead them here in the first place. She paused for a second and nearly laughed at what she saw: An unconscious Professor Snape, a limb-shackled Professor Lupin and Ron to a murderer. A bloody Hermione, Harry and John, and a convicted murderer.

Clara heard a bit of Black and harry's conversation.

"...I'm your godfather."

"Yeah… I know…" Harry replied.

"Once my name is cleared, you could live with me… Unless you want to stay with your aunt and uncle?" Black asked.

Clara smiled. Harry never elaborated, but she was pretty sure that Harry did not like the Dursleys.

Clara winced at the sound of Snape's head hitting the ceiling. She tore her thoughts away from what was happening.

She thought of that woman. Clara didn't know why, but she always felt stronger when she did something that she thought that woman would do… It was reassuring and scary, but Clara knew that it was right. Clara nearly laughed at the fact that she was basing her actions off a figment of her imagination, that seemed to have her own life.

Maybe it was a special type of magic? As a child, Clara thought that she would be able brings things to life by concentrating and imagining hard enough. Maybe, she succeeded? More likely, she was suffering from severe trauma, but was too stubborn to admit it… Yeah, that seemed right…

Clara climbed out of the hole, and was glad that Crookshanks patted the tree knot. She did not want another gash on her face.

Clara studied the area for a second. It was very dark, and there were only little embers glowing from the school's windows. Clara swallowed hard, and kept walking. She didn't have a fear of the dark, no. But, there was a story… Stories actually, of the things that lurked in the shadows of the night… Monsters that crawled beneath your bed… invisible forces, killing with no mercy. Clara wasn't sure where all those stories came from, but sometimes her dad would say weird things…

Clara stumbled, and landed on the ground. She had been so out of focus, she hadn't notice everybody else stop. She hitched a breath.

Professor Lupin had gone stone solid, with only his eyes twitching. Slowly, his arms started shaking, along with his legs.

"No!" Clara said.

"Merlin, he said he didn't take his potion tonight! It's not safe!"

John grabbed Clara's hand, which caused a jolt of electricity to course through her.

"We need to run," he whispered.

Clara nodded, but was intrigued as to what was going to happen.

"Clara," John said more urgently, "Run!"

Clara nodded crazily, and took off. John was actually a fast runner, and he pulled her along. She hadn't seen the transformation, but she could hear the pained shrieks. Clara heard panting and footsteps behind her, saying that everybody else wasn't far behind.

Hermione screamed, and Clara stopped running, and turned back, which caused John to trip and fall on his face.

Clara, with horror, watched as Peter dived for the wand that had been dropped by Lupin. Everybody else was about ten feet away, so she ran toward them.

John cried for her to stop, but she didn't. Clara had to help her friends.

Harry yelled, " _Expelliarmus!"_ And Lupin's wand flew out of Peter's hand, but it was too late. Peter turned into a rat and scampered away.

"No!" Clara shrieked.

John had run back to her side, with dirt on his face. He looked angry, and was probably going to chase after him, but, there were more pressing matters at hand.

Sirius Black was trembling on the ground, blood spilling on his back. There were long gashes. But, he got up hazily, and ran off.

Ron seemed traumatized. He was pale, and sickly looking.

"What happened?" Hermione panted.

"I-I don't know."

There was no sign of Sirius or Lupin. Clara turned around frantically, trying to find some clue as to where they could've gone.

Clara grimaced when she heard the shouts of pain from the dark… She felt like throwing up, but she couldn't. There just wasn't anything…

John looked at Clara, and with a silent agreement of a nod, they ran in the direction of the canine wails. Harry followed soon after, and she heard Hermione yelp.

They reached the edge of the lake, where Sirius was crouched, head in hands, muttering and wailing.

Then, everything seemed hazy and blurry, and Clara felt a massive headache. She felt colder… And she collapsed, panting.

John mouth ' _Clara'_ , but she couldn't hear anything.

Clara turned toward Harry, who was obviously yelling, and she read his lips: ' _She needs to think of something happy! We all do!'_

Clara closed her eyes, and felt herself being rocked, like that lullaby… She smiled, and she was pretty sure that she was officially insane.

With all those images resurfacing because of the dementors, Clara did her best to focus on at least one happy one. Maybe, an imaginary memory, from an imaginary life was happier than anything from her life.

 _The chinny-man frowned. "In your book, there was a leaf. Why?"_

" _That was page one," the woman answered with a sincere smile._

Clara panicked when the happy 'memory' was suddenly plagued.

 _The woman stared at the people that were running past them. They had red cloaks, and dirt, blood and other grime stained them._

 _With horror, she gasped. "Are these the people you're going to burn?"_

 _A different man from before, one Clara couldn't put her finger on answered, "There isn't anything we can do."_

But, perhaps this 'memory' was shown to Clara for a reason.

 _Chinny said, "He's right! There isn't another way, there never was! Either I destroy my own people or let The Universe burn."_

 _The woman was on the verge of tears. "Look at you. The three of you - The Warrior, The Hero... and you."_

 _She seemed to be referring to Chinny, who asked, "And what am I?"_

" _Have you really forgotten?" The woman asked._

" _Yes, maybe, yes."_

 _Sighing, she said, "We've got enough warriors. Any old idiot can be a hero."_

" _Then what do I do?"_

" _What you've always done - be a Doctor. You told me the name you chose was a promise. What was that promise?"_

 _The first one, the skinny one said, "Never cruel nor cowardly."_

 _An old man, who seemed to tired and sad finished, "Never give up. Never give in."_

Breathing hard, Clara was back in the real world. While the pain from the dementors still throbbed, she knew she could live through it. Clara gasped, and saw Harry frantically yelling.

" _Expecto Patronum! Expecto Patronum!"_

Harry was struggling, and Clara felt useless. "Please, guys! Help!" Harry panted.

Hermione tried, and failed.

John already had his wand out, but couldn't seem to even utter the words. He seemed lost, and Clara realized that perhaps he wasn't able to concentrate on a single thought. John put his hand against a tree, and seemed to drift away...

Raising her wand, and letting go of all the fake memories, Clara thought of her mum. Ellie was young and beautiful, and the best. Clara realized though, every memory, no matter how happy it was, was so cruel. Because, her mum's time was over, and she lived to see that. So, Clara couldn't do the spell either.

With a firm yell, Clara said, "NEVER GIVE UP, HARRY! NEVER GIVE IN!"

But, it was useless. Harry was overcome by dementors, and so was everyone else. Clara felt a shadow press on top of her, sucking the warmth from her skin. Clara had never felt so… so _violated._ Even with her new rush, it was nothing against the coldness of the Dementor on top of her. She was getting emptier, and emptier… And that little flame of hope was being blown out…

" _Yeah, well Clear off!" The woman yelled at the old man._

The scene changed.

" _Fix it. Change it. Change what happened. Save him. Bring him back!" The woman held a glowing key menacingly._

Clara gasped as a sudden weight was lifted off of her. The pain throbbed, but it wasn't sharp anymore. The 'memory' was still fresh in her mind, but it hadn't affected her this much. Clara did notice, however, that the world seemed bright and spinny.

The air was warming, and Clara gasped when she saw a silvery flash zoom about, driving the Dementors away.

Clara felt spots dance in her eyes, and she grabbed a tree for support. With a sigh, she felt all energy surge out of her, and the last she saw was her face heading toward the ground…


	28. Unsealing the Infirmary

**_* My hands can't ype anymore... So sore... Why I write so much in a day?! Also, got sorted into my Ilvermorny House! I'm a Wampus, yaaaaaaay!  
_**

* * *

 _John blinked and opened his eyes. He looked down at his body, only to find that it wasn't there. Panic rose in John's chest, until he saw something._

 _It was the same woman, the old man, and a new one… A young boy who was obviously scared and shivering on his bed._

 _The man sighed audibly. "Let me tell you about scared. Your heart is beating so hard - I can feel it through your hands! There's so much blood and oxygen pumping through your brain, it's like rocket fuel. Right now, you could run faster and you could fight harder. You can jump higher than ever in your life. And you are so alert, it's like you can slow down time. What's wrong with scared? Scared is a super power! It's your super power! There is danger in this room, and guess what? It's you. Do you feel it?"_

 _The little boy nodded in agreement. He shuddered. The old man jolted his head toward the bed._

" _Think he feels it? Do you think he's scared? Nah. Loser."_

 _John coked his head. It was obviously another dream… But he was just watching. Dreams were like that; you never knew what was going to happen._

Then, John felt light touch his eyelids. It was like the dream was pushing him to shore…

"...It was lucky you were there, Snape…"

"Thank you, Minister."

 _Minister?_ Where was he? Where was John?

"Order of Merlin, Second Class, I'd say!"

"Thank you again, Minister," Snape's voice said coolly.

"Nasty cut you've got there… I presume it to be Black's work?"

John couldn't really see anything, except the white of the ceiling. It was like the whole world was blinking. It seemed that room was flickering, or something. Ugh, such a terrible analysis, John noted.

"Actually, it was Potter, Granger, Weasley, and Oswald. Mr. Smith seemed to have been part of it as well…"

"No!" Harry's voice moaned from somewhere.

"I saw it immediately, the Confundus Charm. They seemed to think that Black was innocent! They weren't responsible for what occurred. But, had they not meddled and thought they could catch Black themselves, perhaps Black would not have escaped. Obviously, they are all used to being the 'heroes' especially Potter. There seems to be a blindspot when it comes to the boy."

"We all have a blindspot for Potter, Snape," the Minister reminded.

"But is it goof for him? I try to treat him like any other student, that's what a good professor would do. He should be suspended! Consorting with a murderer and werewolf! Breaking dozens of school policies, and endangering many students!"

"Yes, yes. But, what awes me is the fact that all the dementors retreated! Do you have any idea why?"

"No, Minister, but I came 'round and found the Black, Harry, Smith, and the two other girls, all unconscious."

John gulped. He tried to speak, but it came out all sluggish. He turned his head a bit, and saw Madam Pomfrey tending to Ron. Harry was keeping still, and Hermione was lying in the bed next to his. Clara was to John's right, and he noticed her gripping the mattress of the bed, but her eyes were open. Hermione put her finger to her lips, and pointed at the door with was open. Now John knew where the voices were coming from.

The voices were getting quieter, and quieter. When it was safe, John pushed himself up. The room suddenly began to spin.

"Mr. Smith!" Madam Pomfrey scolded. "Back in bed!" But, John couldn't take her seriously, for in her hand was a big block of chocolate.

Harry was also up. "Please, I need to go see the Headmaster!"

Madam Pomfrey whipped around. "There really isn't any need, Potter. They've got Black, and he's locked away. Should be receiving the kiss any moment now…"

"WHAT?" everybody yelled, including John. Clara practically fell out of her bed, and John was suddenly at attention, and on his feet. Hermione and Harry were standing now too.

Minister Fudge and Snape entered the ward.

"My, my, Harry. What's this? Have you had your chocolate?" Fudge asked.

"Minister! Sirius Black is innocent! Peter Pettigrew faked his own death! You can't let the dementors-" Harry panted.

Fudge shook his head, with an apologetic smile on his face. "Harry dear, you're very confused. You've been though a lot. Now, lie down, have some chocolate… Everything is under our control…"

"SIR! YOU'VE GOT THE WRONG MAN!" Harry bellowed.

"Minister, please!" Hermione begged. "I saw him! It was Scabbers, Ron's rat. He's Peter Pettigrew, an Animagus!"

"See? Confunded!" Snape confirmed.

Clara walked over to their side. "Sir," she said carefully, "If we were supposedly Confunded, and Black were capable of that, doesn't it mean that Snape would have been Confunded too?"

John joined them. "She's got a valid point."

Snape's temper was rising. "I assure you, I was not Confunded. You are clearly confused-"

"SIR, WE WERE NOT CONFUNDED!" Harry yelled, enunciating each syllable. He was however, cut off, by a sudden piece of chocolate in his mouth. Madam Pomfrey forced back into bed. Madam Pomfrey tutted as Harry tried to swallow, then turned toward Snape and Fudge. "Please, this is a hospital wing. No arguments! Minister Fudge, I'm going to have to ask you to leave imm-"

John turned to the sound of the door opening. Dumbledore strolled in, humming.

Harry jerked up from the bed. "Professor, Sirius black-" he stuttered.

"Good Lord!" Madam Pomfrey said angrily, "Sir, they are sick-"

"Ah, my apologies, Poppy," Dumbledore said. "But I need a word with the students who were caught up in the events. You see, I have been talking to Sirius Black…"

Snape snarled. "Did he lie saying that there was a ratm and Peter Pettigrew being alive?"

"Yes, yes, Severus. That is Black's story," Dumbledore answered.

"And what about what I have to say? Pettigrew was not in the Shrieking Shack, and I have never seen any evidence of him on school grounds-" Snape retorted.

"Sir, you were unconscious, remember?" Clara reminded him.

"WOULD YOU ALL JUST HOLD YOUR TONGUES?" Snape bellowed.

"Snape, now. They've suffered from trauma. We must be careful…"

Dumbledore nodded. "Yes, yes. Now I must speak with the students…"

"Sir!" Pomfrey protested. "They need treatment and-"

"Poppy, I'm afraid this is quite urgent and cannot wait," Dumbledore explained. "I must insist."

Madam Pomfrey made a flat line with her lips and sighed. She left, and literally slammed the door behind her.

Fudge looked nervous. He pulled out a gold fob watch, and sighed. "The dementors will be arriving about now. I must go."

Fudge exited the room, which basically left a bunch of students in the wake of Dumbledore and angry Snape.

"You don't believe Black's story, do you?" Snape hissed.

"I must speak to the children alone," Dumbledore said.

"Sir, Sirius Black has showed signs of potential homicide wince sixteen! He tried to kill me once, remember?"

"My memory does serve me well, even now, Severus," Dumbledore almost whispered.

Snape scowled, and left the room. Once the door closed, Dumbledore turned to the four teens.

Everybody began talking, which caused Dumbledore to raise his hand for silence.

"You must listen carefully, for there is little time," Dumbledore said. "You children have no proof of Sirius's innocence, except for your word. But the word of you four isn't much right now."

Harry interrupted him.

Dumbledore shook his head. "Professor Lupin is deep in the forest, away from causing you any harm. However, he will not be able to give any proof in the meantime. Also, werewolves are some of the most mistrusted of our kind. Along with the fact they were close friends…"

"But-" Harry said.

" _Listen_. Professor Snape's version of it all far more convincing than yours."

Clara opened her mouth. "It's all because of the stupid prank from when they were in school. Snape hates Sirius," Clara explained separately.

"Sirius right now, seems as guilty as possible. Attacking the Fat Lady, entering Gryffindor Tower with a knife… We simply have no solid evidence."

"Do you believe us though," John asked urgently. That was honestly the most important part.

"Yes," Dumbledore whispered. "But my word isn't much either."

John rubbed his hands together. He had to make sure that this innocent man was going to have his soul from being sucked out.

"What we need, is more time," Dumbledore exclaimed slowly. He was eyeing Hermione… John realized what was happening.

"Waoh, woah, woah!" John said. "We're doing exactly what now?"

Hermione's eyes were as large as marbles. "Oh, ok…"

"Sirius is currently locked in Professor Flitwick's office on the seventh floor. Thirteenth window from the West Tower, actually. Perhaps, if all goes well, two innocent lives will be saved tonight. Miss Granger, and Mr. Smith, you must not be seen!"

John's heart was pounding. It wasn't because he was scared… No… He was anxious to travel through time again.

Dumbledore was leaving the room when he said, "Three turns should do it, good luck! And, it's five minutes 'till midnight."

Clara looked confused. "What are we doing?"

Hermione pulled out the gold Time Turner. "Something. Now, um, grab the chain," she instructed.

They all did her bidding.

"Seriously though," Clara asked again. "What did he mean?"

"Clara," John said. "We're going to travel through Time."

"Excuse me?"

"No time to explain!" Hermione said. "Now!" She turned the hourglass at the end of the chain three time, and everything around John dissolved.

It was a weird feeling. John had time-travelled before, but there seemed to be less of a capsule this time. Colours blurred past John, and there were voices that were heard too. Then, he landed on the ground again, and he groaned.

"Silly little excuse for Time-Travel," John muttered.

Hermione paid him no heed. "In here!" she hissed, and she pushed them all into a broom closet.

It was small, and cramped, and John felt uncomfortable pressed against three bodies.

"What did we just do?" Harry panted,

"We've gone about three hours back in time, Harry," Hermione explained.

Clara laughed. "Oh my goodness…"

"Yeah," was all John could wheeze out. Hermione was elbowing John.

"I always wanted to travel through Time!" Clara exclaimed.

"Believe me, I've had better experiences," John muttered.

Clara was fidgeting, and it was extremely uncomfortable. "Why only three hours though?"

Hermione frowned. "Because, there is still past us out there, and the more exposure you have to Time Travel, the more of a risk there is of something occurring. Like, something bad."

John wanted to cross his arms, but he couldn't. "Actually, if you had a temporal capsule that protects you from the Time Vortex, no actual damage is done to you physically. Your body will pick up some background radiation, but it's harmless…"

"Please, not now, John!" Hermione said.

"Fine, fine. But you really ought to know the physics of it all… We shouldn't be stupid and cause any more paradoxes."

"More paradoxes?" Hermione squeaked.

"What did you expect? Time Travel always causes paradoxes! But, Time sorts herself out, and we don't feel anything."

"OK, phew." Hermione shook her head, which caused hair to fly into John's face. "We're getting off topic."

She pushed herself against the broom closet door. "We've just walked down to Hagrid's…"

"Wait, we're out there?" Clara asked.

"Yes, pay attention," John exclaimed.

"Where did you get the hourglass thingy? And how does John know about it?" Harry asked.

Hermione blushed. "It's called a Time Turner, and I got it from Professor McGonagall. I had to swear I wouldn't tell anyone, and I had to sign a bunch of papers to the Ministry…"

John cut her off. "We wanted to do more classes, so forms signed, promises made, and we had Time-Travelling devices! I only got one because I haven't done that much. Though, my parents were contacted…"

Hermione sighed. "I just don't know what we're supposed to do! I mean, three hours? Why?"

Clara smiled. "Oh, come on! Isn't it obvious?"

John stared at her face. "No…?"

Clara pressed her ear against the door too. "We're going to save Buckbeak!"


	29. In the Woods

*** Last day of school today! I don't know why I went, since it was beasically just an assembly and stuff... Also, I was sick and sneezing... I shoul've just stayed home! Well, enjoy chapter 29! I have about 2-3 more chapters planned in this story...**

* * *

There was a rush of excitement that was surging through Clara's veins. First, they had travelled through, Time. _Time_! Clara had never heard of such a thing! Second, they would be letting two innocent beings live tonight.

"I don't understand how that'll help save Sirius," Harry breathed. In fact, Clara had trouble talking too because it was very tight and hot in the broom closet…

Hermione grunted. "Well, Dumbledore said that Sirius was on the seventh floor! We're supposed to fly Buckbeak up and save him! How will we do it without being seen?" Fear was etched all over her voice.

"By being very careful, and not attracting attention to ourselves," John hissed. "And, we'd better get started."

Hermione pursed her lips as she closed her eyes and pressed against the door again. "I don't hear anything…"

Clara nodded. "OK, then let's get out, _please_!"

There was a murmur of agreement, and Clara tentatively pushed the door open. "Let's go," she said quietly.

They all staggered out, breathing hard. Quickly collecting themselves, they walked down the stone steps that led outside. The sun was setting, causing the tops of the trees to look aflame.

"What if someone sees us?" Clara asked urgently.

"We'll run and hide," John replied,

"That really doesn't help."

John scowled, though he always looked like that. Clara smirked to herself, and they continued walking in the shadows.

"How 'bout we go around the greenhouses? We need to keep away from Hagrid's front door, and we won't be able to see us if there's a building in the way," Hermione offered.

Harry narrowed his eyes. "What?"

John shook his head. "We're in the past, figure it out."

"We'd better get there fast," Clara said, trying to avoid an argument.

"Yeah," Harry agreed. "Let's run." Before anyone could answer, he took off, sprinting. Clara and everyone else followed. John passed Clara, but he only ran a bit faster than her. Hermione was the slowest, but she was keeping a steady pace behind Clara.

They ran around the greenhouse, until they were at the edge of the forest. John arrived there first, with Harry close behind. Clara halted to a stop, and then Hermione joined them.

"I'm guessing we're going to Hagrid's now?" Clara panted.

Hermione nodded. "...We need to keep quiet," she wheezed. "Sneak our way over."

Everyone nodded, before walking closer, than hiding behind two oak trees that stood beside each other. Then, a knock was heard from the door of Hagrid's hut. Hagrid gingerly opened the door, and he looked pale, and he was shivering.

Clara could hear a gasp escape Harry's mouth when he heard his own voice. Clara, funnily knew the feeling.

"It's us! Hagrid, we're wearing the Invisibility Cloak! Let us in!"

"This is really weird," Harry muttered.

"Sh!" Hermione scolded. "We need to get closer to Buckbeak!"

The four of them crept alongside the trees until they reached the animal. Clara felt immediately happier, even though she barely knew the animal.

"Now?" Harry asked.

"No!" Hermione hissed. "We've got to wait until the Committee sees Hagrid tie him up! Otherwise, they'll think Hagrid just let Buckbeak loose!"

"That plan gives us literally 60 seconds the get everything done!" Harry protested.

Clara winced. "We're not here, er _were_ here… I have no idea what's happening right now, or then."

"Get used to it, I feel it all the time," John muttered.

There was a shriek from inside.

"We've just found Scabbers," Hermione explained.

Harry started forward, and Hermione and John pulled him back.

"What are you doing?" John hissed angrily.

"What if we get Pettigrew now?" Harry asked desperately.

"What are you talking about?" Hermione retorted. "We can't! That would break another law of Time Travel! Nobody's supposed to change time, Harry! We're even doing it right now!"

John frowned. "Well, technically, because we're stuck in a paradox, assuming we've completed our task, Sirius is alive in the future. And that is because of what we do right now. Which means that, if we don't do this, we'll be changing the future."

Hermione huffed. "John, I hate to say this, but we really don't need a temporal lesson right now!"

John knit his eyebrows together. "Well, unless you want Harry to fracture the Universe in two seconds-"

"Ugh!" Hermione exclaimed. "Listen, just don't do it! You might see yourself and attack you, yourself."

"Fine!" Harry hissed. "Just an idea…"

"An idea that could've gotten the whole planet attacked by Time anti-viruses," John said.

"Not now!" Hermione said.

Clara rolled her eyes. In truth, she wanted to find out more about what John knew, but she realized that would anger her comrades.

Clara instead, opted for watching the scenes unfold in front of her. Hagrid walked out to the pumpkin patch where Buckbeak stood, and calmed the hippogriff down.

"We're coming out…" Hermione breathed.

Harry, Hermione, and Ron stood, watching Buckbeak too.

"Go on! Get out of here! I don't wanna you guys to see that!" Hagrid sobbed.

Instantly, the past three put up a fight.

"They can't kill him-"

"Just go!" Hagrid cried again.

Hermione, Harry, and Ron threw themselves under the cloak, and were gone from sight.

There was a knocking sound, and the execution party had come. The back door was still open from the past people's departure. They could hear into the hut.

"Where is the best?"

"Outside…" Hagrid blew his nose.

Minister Fudge was also speaking. Clara wasn't sure why the Minister of Magic had to attend such a thing, but he was here as well.

Harry shuffled forward. "They've seen Buckbeak. Now, let me." Without waiting for a complete answer, Harry ran forward.

Clara watched in awe as he bowed to the hippogriff, and then once earning Buckbeak's respect, untied the knots that tied Buckbeak to a fence.

Harry carefully pulled Buckbeak back, but Buckbeak didn't want to move. Harry tugged tighter on the rope, hoping to walk Buckbeak the fifteen more feet until safety.

Clara gave Harry a look of disbelief and frustration as he struggles with Buckbeak. John was groaning about people being stupid again.

Finally, Buckbeak decided to walk properly. Harry managed to get Buckbeak to the forest, and to safety.

Clara smiled. "Good job! But what the hell so long?"

Harry rubbed his red hands. "The blasted thing didn't want to move!"

"Uh, we need to get a move on," John said. He started pulling on Buckbeak. Hermione tugged on the rope too.

They were completely covered by the trees, but they stopped when they heard, "Where is it?"

The executioner was extremely angry. He cursed a bit, but in all his frustration, he hit the fence. Happy sobs were heard escaping from Hagrid.

"So, that's what that was," Clara said.

"Yeah…" Harry agreed.

"Well, we can't go back," Hermione said. "We have to wait until everybody has gone back to the castle. Then, we can fly to Sirius's window and save him. Ugh, but he won't be there for another couple hours!"

Clara stretched her arms. "We can't wait here. We've got to know what's going on!"

"But, we've got to keep out of ight!" Hermione reminded them.

John started waking. "We know, we know!"

They walked, until they saw Ron at the Whomping Willow.

"Scabbers! Come here!"

Again, Clara cringed when Sirius bit into Ron's leg. Then, when the Whomping Willow almost hit Harry, and he ducked out of the way, Clara hadn't noticed a twof whipped her in the face. It looked more painful form afar.

Clara touched her face, and cringed when John was hit square in the chest by a branch. He fell down, and luckily didn't seem _too_ affected.

Minuted later, the four of them were in, climbing their way down the tunnel to the Shrieking Shack. It was weird, because then the tree started moving again. And at that moment, the executioner, Fudge, Dumbledore, and another were walking back to the castle up that very hill.

Another five minutes, and Professor Lupin was running down the hill. He hit the knot on the tree with a long beach, and went inside. Clara noticed how the sky was grey from the cloudy moonlight.

Harry winced. "If I grab the cloak now, Snape won't be able to get it!"

Clara shook her head. "Harry, we just had this conversation minutes ago! You can't do that!"

"But I can't just stand around and watch! I'm going to go!" Harry argued. He got up from where he was kneeling, while everyone cried "Harry!" Well, John muttered "Idiot," but same thing.

Clara grabbed the back of Harry's robes, which caused him to stumble.

Clara was glad she did, too. Because there Hagrid was, singing his drunk arse off. Hagrid stumbled up the hill, taking impressive swigs from his brandy bottle.

Clara smiled at the memory of her doing that once… Wait, what? No. That was the _other_ woman, right? Clara had to leave her thoughts and attend to Buckbeak who was trying to get back to his master.

And then, two minutes later, Snape burst through the doors. He ran down the hill, charging. He stopped at the base of the Whomping Willow, and picked up the Invisibility Cloak.

Harry snarled something behind Clara, but she didn't quite catch it. Snape went into the tunnel after touching the knot with a stick.

Clara sighed. "That's it. Around another thirty to forty minutes until they, _we_ , all disperse and we can get Sirius."

Hermione nodded, and tied Buckbeak to a tree. She sat down into a ball. Clara lay down on her back, looking at the clear sky above her. There wasn't any pollution here… The sky was clear and beautiful, speckled with stars.

"Sometimes I wish I could look at them closer, you know? The stars, I mean," Clara said quietly.

John who was sitting next to her, nodded. "Yeah."

Hermione cracked her knuckles. "Muggles have already visited the Moon. Apollo 11 of 1969…"

Clara smiled. "Yeah, I know. The Moon is the best. I'll always remember Neil Armstrong's foot…"

John shuddered, which caused Clara to prop herself up onto her elbow. "What?" she asked.

John frowned. "Nothing. It's just… A lot more happened in 1969 than anyone remembers…"

Clara was about to ask what he meant, when Harry interrupted her.

"I've seen the Van Gogh painting ' _Starry Night_.' Reckon the Patronus that saved us at the Lake looks a bit like that…"

Hermione stretched her legs. "Yeah… I saw the blur of light. But I don't understand how Sirius got away… I mean, we _all_ passed out!"

Clara ran her fingers through her hair. "Maybe someone else did it?"

John smacked his head. "Well who'd you think did it? The squashed-faced cat?"

Clara sat down properly, and put her hands up in defeat.

"It was probably a teacher," Hermione concluded.

"No…" Harry muttered. "He didn't look like any teacher…"

John tapped his fingers anxiously, like he had to keep at least one body part moving. "Well, we've narrowed it down to 'he.' "

Clara wrapped her cloak nervously around herself even tighter. "Do you have any idea who it was?"

Harry stared out into the sky again. "I think," he started, "I think he was my dad."

Clara and Hermione immediately frowned. John looked at Harry like he was an idiot, though to be fair, that was the look John gave to _everyone_.

"Harry, James s dead," Clara said quietly. "He has been for almost fourteen years!"

"I know, I know!"

"Do you think you saw a ghost?" Hermione queried.

"No," Harry replied firmly. "He was, well he looked solid."

John chuckled. " _Solid_. Interesting way to describe a dead man."

"John!" Clara scolded. She turned her attention back to Harry. "Harry, I know that today has gotten your hopes up and everything, but… Just because Sirius is innocent and Buckbeak is alive, that doesn't mean your father isn't dead."

"But, he _looked_ like the photos I have of him!"

But, they all turned their attention back when their past selves exited the Shrieking Shack. The clouds were about to part…

Harry moved forward.

"You can't be seen! Stay put!" Hermione said sternly.

"I can't just let Peter get away!"

Clara sighed. "Harry, it's too dark anyway. He's a rat!"

"He's transforming!" Hermione whispered.

Harry started to panick. "Hermione, we've got to move!"

"We can't be seen, Harry!"

John shook his head quickly. "No, no. The kid is right. Lupin will come into the forest, right where we are!"

Clara's heart sank. "No, no, no! Ugh!" She launched herself up, and quickly began untying Buckbeak.

"Where are we going to go?" Hermione groaned.

"Hagrid's!" Harry suggested. "No one's there!"

Clara nodded. "Hagrid's sounds much nicer than here, Harry!"

They all looked at each other in acknowledgement. Then, they ran. They made their way into the house, where Buckbeak made himself happy.

Clara hadn't actually been to Hagrid's house, unless it was for an errand or something. It was weird being in a house, uninvited. She felt like an intruder. Well, actually, she was.

"I need to go outside," Harry said carefully.

Hermione gave a suspicious glance toward Harry.

"Just so that we know when it's safe to save Sirius, OK?"

Hermione nodded slowly. He left the house silently. Clara took one look at him, and said, "I think I'd better keep an eye on him. He's probably going to try and sneak out."

She didn't wait for an answer, so she left anyway. She crept along the walls of the house, until she tapped Harry on the shoulder.

Harry jumped, but said nothing.

Clara stood by his side, as they watched their past selves run to the lake. Clara felt Harry shiver when he saw the dementors.

Harry looked at Clara. "I really need to know if my dad was there," he said.

Clara frowned. "Listen, Harry…"

Harry shook his head, and gripped his wand. "No. I'm going to find out anyway."

Clara rubbed her nose. "Harry, I already know who casted the Patronus," she whispered.

Harry looked at her in disbelief. "Who?"

Clara shook her head. "I think, you're going to have to find out by yourself, OK?" She gave him a quick hug. "You'll have to run," she said ever so quietly.

Harry nodded against her hug. Clara pulled away, before giving Harry a quick peck on the cheek. He blushed, and Clara noticed.

"Like I said, if you want to find him, you're going to have to run and catch up to him," Clara said again.

Harry nodded, and he looked sure now. He didn't say anything. Instead, he ran off into the direction of the Lake, straight into the mass of about one hundred dementors. Now, she had to deal with Hermione who was storming out of the house.


	30. 6 Perfectly Ordinary Roof People

*** I wanted to write yesterday but... I was sick as all hell and I would've fallen asleep on the keyboard. But, happy Canada Day to all of you out there, and guess what? A bit of history for you guys. Today is the 100th anniversary of Battle of the Somme. More than one million men were either wounded or killed. That makes it the bloodiest battle in human history.**

* * *

John watched as Clara walked out of the hut, following Harry. Hermione was glancing out of a window that looked over a hill.

"Did you lie that day? When you told me that a paradox would occur if I went back in time and went to my Charms class?" She asked, still looking out the window.

John frowned. "Well, kind of. Yes, a paradox would occur, but it would be so tiny that it would sort itself out. But, but what I said still stands. You would've had to hide from Harry and Ron, because they were the ones who told you missed the class. But, yes. You would've been able to attend the class."

Hermione sighed. "Then why'd you stop me?"

John stared out into the black space. "Because I think that just because you can Time-Travel, it doesn't mean you should rewrite your day. Change other people's futures."

Hermione nodded, before jerking her head. "Merlin," she muttered, before running out the door.

"Watch Buckbeak for me," she panted.

John shook his head. "No way."

"Fine, then bring him outside," Hermione said. She ran out, John followed her outside, where she came to a halt when she reached Clara.

"Clara!" she shrieked. "Why would you let Harry run away?"

Clara shrugged. "Hermione, it's fine. I let him."

Hermione threw her hands in the air. "Why? After everything I said about not being _seen_! Then, you just let Harry run straight toward his past self!"

Clara made a time-out gesture. "Calm down, Hermione! Even John knows what's happening!"

John frowned. He probably did know at one point, but it was way too difficult to remember at this point. There was just a bunch of useless stuff floating in his head. But, he played along.

Hermione growled in frustration. "I need to stop him!" she said, before running down the hill, with Buckbeak, which she pulled from John's hands.

Clara flinched, before running after Hermione. She paused momentarily when she saw the dementors. But then, there was a silvery burst of light that drove all the dementors away. Clara turned back momentarily and yelled, "Coming?"

John nodded, and ran.

When they reached Hermione, she was ducking behind a bush alongside Harry. Hermione seemed a little calmer now.

"Did anyone see you?" she asked urgently.

Harry made an exasperated sound. "Hermione! I saw me! Remember? I thought that I was my dad!"

Clara knelt down by their side. "Told you I knew who it was!" she said brightly, winking.

Harry frowned. "How did you know?"

Clara chuckled. "Oh, please. The moment you said that you saw your dad, I was sure. But, I was right! You did have to find out by yourself!"

Harry nodded in understanding. "OK."

Hermione was still wide-eyed. "But, Harry! I saw the Patronus! It drove away all the dementors!"

Clara nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that's impressive. Very advanced magic."

"Well, when I realized that I saw me, I realized that I could do it because I'd already done it! It does make sense, right?"

John nodded. "It's not that big of a problem with the timeline. See? Paradoxes sort themselves out."

Hermione shushed him. "Be quiet! Here comes Snape!"

She was right. The four of them glanced through the hole in the bush to see Snape levitating Harry, Hermione, and Black. Then, he walked back to the castle.

Hermione glanced at her watch. "We have forty-five minutes until Dumbledore locks the door to the hospital wing…"

They waited a bit until they actually were sure that Sirius was in Flitwick's office. John stared at the way the Moon reflected onto the lake. There were tiny ripples in the water, but otherwise, John's image wasn't distorted.

While looking at the way the Moon shone on the Lake, he couldn't help but notice the way it looked when a ripple of water would cause the image to break up. It looked like the Moon was cracking and crippling. John wondered when the Moon would actually crack like that in the future.

"Look! Someone's coming back out of the castle!" Hermione whispered.

"It's Macnair, the executioner! He's gone to collect the dementors! We need to go now!" Harry said frantically.

Everybody nodded. Hermione clutched onto the back of Buckbeak, while John and Harry pushed her up. Then, Clara went, then Harry gave a boost to John, and finally Harry Harry used some branches from the bush to get himself onto Buckbeak. John was so glad of the hippogriff for being so large.

John was at the back, but because of the way Harry had to get on Buckbeak, he was at the front. Harry nudged carefully Buckbeak's side with his feet, and they were off.

John was very uncomfortable gripping onto Clara. It just felt weird. Clara was laughing her face off, while John was trying to make sure Clara didn't just toss him over the edge.

After a minute, Harry reached his destination. Well, except for the fact that Buckbeak didn't want to land, but close enough.

Sirius realized what was happening, and he looked awestruck. He tried to open the window, but it was locked. Hermione used the unlocking spell, and he was all good.

"Come on!" Harry yelled.

Sirius nodded, and thank goodness he was so thin. He slipped out of the window and flung himself onto the back of Buckbeak. If John was uncomfortable before, he was even more now. Black was panting behind John, and although he wasn't gripping onto him, it was still weird.

Buckbeak flew to the very top of the West Tower. He landed on battlements, where Harry, Hermione, Clara and John slipped off Buckbeak.

"You'd better go," Harry gasped. "Macair is gathering the dementors…"

"Ron? Is he OK?" Sirius wheezed.

"He'll be OK. Madam Pomfrey is taking care of him. But, Sirius, you need to go!" Harry repeated.

Black turned Buckbeak around, so that they were facing the open air. "You're truly your father's son Harry…" Sirius almost whispered. Then, he kicked Buckbeak's sided gently, and rose into the air. Moments later, he was gone.

Hermione sucked a breath. "Guys, we need to go! We have ten minutes until Dumbledore locks the door!"  
"OK…" Harry muttered.

They sneaked into a spiraling staircase. When they reached the bottom, they heard voices. They belonged to the Minister and Snape.

"The Kiss will be performed immediately?" Snape asked, in his regular, monotone, voice.

John continued eavesdropping on the conversation. They were talking about the Daily Prophet wanting an interview with Snape. John snickered to himself.

After the two had gone, John and the others ran in the opposite direction. They heard Peeves bouncing and causing general chaos.

They hid in a classroom just before Peeves caught a sight of them.

"What if we don't make it?" Clara asked nervously.

Hermione shuddered. "We have one minute."

They all ran to the end of the corridor before the hospital wing. They could see Dumbledore's back.

"I am going to lock you in," he said calmly. They all panicked when he came out.

"Well?" he asked, with a shy grin.

"We did it!" Harry exclaimed. "Sirius left with Buckbeak!"

Dumbledore nodded. "Very well then. I think I'd better lock you in now."

The four nodded, and Dumbledore closed the door behind them, and locked it.

Hermione gave a nervous laugh. "Oh my god!" She hid the Time-Turner in her robes, before pulling a leaf out of her hair and tossing it. Madam Pomfrey appeared from her office.

"Can I look after my patients now?" She asked briskly.

John shuddered, as Pomfrey was definitely not in a good mood. He ate his chocolate quietly. Honestly, everyone else looked like they were going to choke on the food, but John was fine. He like chocolate. John needed his Serotonin levels to stay up. As he took his sixth piece of chocolate, there was a roar of outrage coming from outside.

Madam Pomfrey was not happy. "What _do_ they think they're doing?"

"He must have Disapparated. Damn, we should've left someone with him," Fudge said.

"YOU CAN'T APPARATE OR DISAPPARATE IN THE CASTLE!" Snape bellowed. "THIS ALL HAS TO DO WITH POTTER!"

"Harry has been locked up!"

The door to the hospital wing blew open. Hermione dropped her piece of chocolate in surprise.

"WHAT DID YOU DO?" Snape roared. "COME ON, POTTER!"

"Please, Professor!" Pomfrey shrieked. "Control yourself in my hospital wing!"

"THEY HELPED HIM ESCAPE! I'M SURE OF IT!"

"You're talking nonsense!"

Dumbledore had accompanied them, and with an amused whisper he said, "This door has been locked for ten minutes after I talked to them, Severus. Think about your accusation!" Dumbledore paused. "Madam Pomfrey, have these students left the classroom at all?"

Pomfrey puffed her chest. "Of course not. They've been under constant supervision."

"There we go. Unless you are suggesting that the four students here, or more specifically, Harry, can be a two places at one time, I think that your theory is well lacking in proof. Let's not bother them further, shall we?"

Snape snarled, then whipped around and left angrily.

Fudge scratched his head. "He seemed very unbalanced, Dumbledore."

With his usual smile back, Dumbledore said, "He's suffered a bit of a disappointment."

"Well, so have I! The _Daily Prophet_ will have a field day! Black slipped through our fingers _again_!"

"I trust the dementors will be removed from the school property?"

"Yes… They will have to go. They're out of control; trying to give the Kiss to a boy! Perhaps dragons at the front entrance…"

John shuddered. _Dragons_. He could already see himself trip over the tail and be burnt to crisp.

Dumbledore smiled. "Yes, I think Hagrid shall like that very much."

The two of them left, negotiating.

Madam Pomfrey hurried to lock the door, then went back to her office. She huffed in annoyance.

Ron moaned from one of the beds.

"What? What happened? Harry? What?"

The four exchanged a glance.

Clara plucked John's piece of chocolate from his hands. "You tell him. You're going to get fat if you keep eating."

John frowned. "I'll just remember that tomorrow I'll travel in time back to today to tell me to stop. I'll be here in three… two… one…" Of course, nothing happened, but the four gave a nervous laugh.

"What is so funny?" Ron shrieked.

John cracked his knuckles. "The fact that it's been about an hour and a half since you were brought here, along with us."

"What?"

John stole the chocolate back. "It's been about four and a half hours since we were brought here."

" _What?_ "


	31. Remember Me

*** Happy Independance Day, fellow Americans! Since I'm in Canada I don't get the light show... :( But I got one on the first, so yaaaaaay! Tomorrow I'm going to Guatemala, so 8:00 AM flight, here I come! Well, without further ado...**

* * *

Everybody stayed at the hospital wing for the night, and when they left, they were met with bare hallways. Nobody wanted to stay inside the castle, so they went to Hogsmeade. Clara really couldn't wait to visit Hogsmeade properly.

Ron was still confused out of his mind. It was a bad idea to let John explain, for he added all the technical explanations as well. Clara laughed at some of them, not really knowing why. Her friends would look at her, as if to ask, _You understand this?_ Clara just smiled sadly.

Through it all, Clara was quite glad that she would be able to spend some time with her friends. Harry, Hermione, Ron, and John all decided to skip the Hogsmeade visit. Perhaps they were all too tired.

Instead, they lay by the lake, reminiscing about last night's endeavours. Clara looked out into the lake, smiling at the bubbles the giant squid caused. Sometimes, the giant squid would lap out a tentacle or two, as if to put on a show. This made Clara laugh.

Ron and Hermione were talking to each other, while Harry stared at the open air. Perhaps he was looking again for his Patronus. Clara had to admit that the Patronus was beautiful. Clara had seen things before, but to witness something so pure, innocent, and happy, it was almost sad because every single time, Clara remembered everything that was sad. Why was life cruel like that?

A big shadow loomed over Clara. She turned around and saw a teary Hagrid.

"Yer know, I really shouldn' feel happy after Black escapin' at what not, but, guess what?"

Everybody put on their biggest fake smiles. "What?"

"Beak escaped! Oh, I've been celebratin' all night!"

Clara glared at Ron, who was hiding his face from Hagrid because of his laughter. Clara kicked him.

Hermione smiled innocently. "That is amazing, Hagrid!"

Hagrid smiled again. "I mus' not have tied 'im properly… I was worried he mighta met Professor Lupin, but Lupin says he didn't eat anything last night…"

Clara's smiled faltered. "Wait, what?"

Hagrid coughed. "Oh, well ya haven't heard? Everyone's supposed to know. Snape told 'em Slytherins this morning. Lupin's a werewolf, ya see… He was loose on the grounds last' night, so he's packin' now…"

Clara jolted. "Packing?" she cried in disbelief.

"He's leavin' all right… Resigned firs' thing this mornin'... Says he don't wanna risk it again…"

Harry scrambled to his feet. "I need to go see him!"

Hermione pulled him down. "He's resigned Harry-"

"I stil want to see him. Stay here everybody, please."

Clara frowned. Professor Lupin had been her favourite teacher. It would be sad to see him go. She sighed. "Bet Malfoy's having a field day today."

John snorted. "He's bipolar today, if that's what you mean. Black escaped, the animal that 'mauled' him is on the loose, and Lupin is gone. He's probably not sure what emotion to feel."

Clara laughed. She mussed up John's hair. "Haven't you heard that Malfoy's don't have emotions?" Everyone laughed. However, Clara couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt the moment she said that.

* * *

Harry never did return, so eventually, Clara dispersed. It was Monday, and by now, the whole school had heard about the events of a couple days ago. There were so many rumours flying about, it was hilarious. Clara and her gang of friends would most likely be the only ones to know what happened.

While in the Great Hall, Clara heard Seamus and Dean talking.

"Who knows what we'll get next year!"

"I know! Maybe a vampire?"

Clara laughed, and just as John was walking by, she whispered, "Twilight."

John laughed, and Clara high-fived him. She muttered to herself, "so good, so good. Ah, I'm amazing."

Clara was earned some odd looks, but that was alright.

On the last day of term, Clara sat down, alongside Ginny, and all of her other friends. They were looking over their marks.

Harry was surprised when he passed Potions, though to be honest, so was Clara. It seemed that Snape just couldn't handle Clara's innocent mistakes. Though, Clara couldn't handle Snape's personality.

Ginny scowled. "Did well enough in Charms, though I seriously need to improve in Potions…"

Clara laughed. "If somebody passed with flying colours, I'll be surprised."

John groaned. "I got an 'A.' Only and 'acceptable'! Why?"

Clara grabbed the report card. "What? Potions?" She looked it over and snickered. "I think after that night's events, Snape hates you."

"Bugger."

Ginny pulled her away from the crowd for a second. She gave a serious look. "Are you friends with him again, Clara?"

Clara chewed on her toast. "Who?"

Ginny rolled her eyes. "John!"

Clara swallowed. "Yes, but I'll never tell him that. Too stubborn." Clara tapped her nose.

Ginny scowled. "You think you're adorable, but you're just a menace."

Clara slid back to her original spot. "I'm a killer cinnamon roll. Sweet, warm, sugary, but killer."

"Sounds like my mum's cinnamon rolls," Ginny replied.

"Who's the menace now?"

"I never said that I wasn't a menace!" Ginny laughed, quick as a flash, she grabbed the jam knife and spread the berry stiff on Clara's cloak.

"Ginny? What the hell?" Clara shouted. They were probably attracting a lot of attention.

"What? I like my cinnamon rolls with jam!" Ginny taunted.

Clara growled. "Ginny Weasley, you are insufferable!" Ginny must've noticed her look, for she took off gleefully out of the Great Hall.

Clara scowled, and threw her cloak off to ensure it didn't get in her way while killing Ginny with the jam knife. "Get your arse over here, Ginny!" she yelled.

The next morning, Clara stood next to all her friends, waiting for the Hogwarts Express. Hermione said something surprising.

"I've dropped Muggle Studies," she said sadly.

"You got a 320%!" Ron exclaimed.

Hermione looked at the ground. "I know! But, I don't want a repeat of this year. No more time-travel, OK? I'll have a normal schedule."

Ron wrinkled his nose. "Why didn't you tell us you had a Time Turner?" Ron complained for the millionth time.

Clara shook her head. "More to the point, John had one and didn't tell anybody!"

They laughed, until Clara noticed an envelope John was clutching.

"What's that?" she asked.

John wrinkled his brow. "Tickets to this summer's Quidditch World Cup. My father got the tickets got me a ticket. Thankfully, I'll be going by myself."

"Is that safe?"

John snorted. "Going to a sporting event like this? No."

Ginny strode over. "You going to the Cup? Dad usually gets tickets from work." Her eyes lit up, "Hey, Clara! I could ask my Dad to get you a ticket!"

Clara smiled. "That'd be great!"

They all climbed into the train, where Clara, Ginny, and John separated from everyone else.

Clara looked out the window. "I don't want this year to end."

John sighed. "Everything ends, Clara. You of all people should know that."

Clara nodded against the glass. At first, she thought that John meant her mum, but it was more than that. Something only the pair understood.

Once they arrived at King's Cross Station, Clara bid her farewells. She looked for her dad, and he was again, late. John swaggered off, leaving Clara in a crowd of busy Muggles and Wizards.

And there was that feeling again. The ripping apart of her body, but it was stronger this time. The world dissolved around her, colours swirled, voices were garbled, and finally, Clara was still again. The catch: she was by no means at King's Cross Station. So, she did the only thing she could: she rang the doorbell.

* * *

 **End of " _Those Who_ _Reminisced_ " I sincerely hope you enjoyed this story. I loved writing it, of course. Thanks to my frequent reviewers as well. I'll have the third, and final installment up soon. The first chapter will be uploaded August 1st. The nest installment will be... " _Remember Me."_ It'll be full of action, and you'll finally find out the secret as to why Clara and the Doctor don't remember their time-travelling past. Preview to the " _Remember Me,_ " read ahead...  
**

* * *

Clara frowned. She knew the woman... How many times? How? How many times had she seen her in her dreams? And here she was, making Clara feel _very_ afraid. She gripped the edge of her seat, hoping she wouldn't stab the lady.

Clara flinched at the waking memories, and she shook her head. But, the frames still flashed by. It was just a blurry mess, but Clara felt something weird inside of her...

The woman simply smiled. She had the mischevious eyes, the ones that screamed " _Run!_ " Her eyes were mistly and clouded, which annoyed Clara. Beside her, John was taking sharp breaths. Sharp, painful, staggering breaths.

One word, just one tiny word... The one that would change Clara's life. The one that hurt her the most.

" _Missy."_


End file.
